Publication details
Revisión taxonómica de “Testudo” gymnesica Bate, 1914 (Testudines, Testudinidae) a partir de la descripción del material tipo de Menorca (Islas Baleares)
| Title in English | Taxonomic revision of ‘Testudo’ gymnesica Bate, 1914 (Testudines, Testudinidae) based on the description of the type material from Menorca (Islas Baleares) |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Spanish Journal of Palaeontology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Ecology |
| Keywords | Testudinids; insularity; giant tortoises; Titanochelon; taxonomic revision |
| Description | Knowledge on fossil giant tortoises from Europe has considerably increased during recent years, leading to the description of genus Titanochelon for the species from the European Neogene. However, the inclusion of the giant tortoise from the Balearic Islands, ‘Testudo’ gymnesica, in that genus has been made only on tentative grounds. To clarify the taxonomic status and phylogenetic position of this species, in this paper we describe and fi gure in detail its type material from Minorca (lectotype and paralectotypes), together with some unpublished specimens not included in the original description. The remarkable postcranial differences shown by this species compared with Titanochelon spp. cast additional doubts on its inclusion in this genus. A cladistic analysis does not resolve its phylogenetic relationships. Some of the peculiar features observed in the carapace and the postcranial bones of the fossil tortoise from Menorca are attributable to its evolution under insularity conditions, which hinders the determination of its phylogenetic relationships relative to continental species. Provisionally we refer to the species tentatively as aff. Titanochelon gymnesica. In the future, a detailed study of the unpublished material from Minorca, with emphasis on the carapace, should enable an emended diagnosis of the species, as well as determining more conclusively its correct generic ascription. |