| Centrochelys atlantica Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
| Family: | Testudinidae |
| Genus: | Centrochelys |
| Species: | †C. atlantica
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Centrochelys atlantica (López-Jurado, Mateo, & García-Márquez 1998)
[1]
| |
Centrochelys atlantica is an extinct species of tortoise that lived in the Pleistocene. It was first recorded in the volcanic crater on Sal, Cape Verde. [2] It was initially identified as similar to the extant Testudo calcarata (= Centrochelys sulcata). The species is no longer present anywhere in the Cape Verde islands. It has since been described as a new species, differentiated from C. sulcata by its smaller size and lesser robusticity. [1] It does not seem there is any evidence this species came into contact with humans. [3] Kehlmaier et al. (2021) identified the type material of this species as belonging to a specimen of the red-footed tortoise, making C. atlantica a junior synonym of the latter species and leaving the extinct tortoise known from fossils excavated on the Sal Island in the 1930s without a scientific name. [4]
The carapace of the species is around 40 centimetres (1.3 ft) long. While often placed in the genus Centrochelys, which contains the living African spurred tortoise, the limited remains of the species make its placement in the genus uncertain, and thus the species is often referred to as "Centrochelys" atlantica. [5]
References
- ^ a b López-Jurad o, L.F., Mateo, J.A., and García-Márqu ez, M. 1998. La tortuga fósil de la isla de Sal (Archipiélago de Cabo Verde). Revista Española de Herpetología 12:111–114.
- ^ Chevalier, A., Joleaud , L., and Petit, G. 1935. Les dépôts quaternaires de l’ancien cratère de Pedra de Lume (île de Sal, archipel du Cap-Vert). Comptes Rendus des Séances de l’Académie des Sciences, Paris 200:1334–1335.
- ^ Rhodin, A.G.J.; Thomson, S.; Georgalis, G.; Karl, H.-V.; Danilov, I.G.; Takahashi, A.; de la Fuente, M.S.; Bourque, J.R.; Delfino M.; Bour, R.; Iverson, J.B.; Shaffer, H.B.; van Dijk, P.P.; et al. (Turtle Extinctions Working Group) (2015). "Turtles and tortoises of the world during the rise and global spread of humanity: first checklist and review of extinct Pleistocene and Holocene chelonians". Chelonian Research Monographs. 5 (8): 000e.1–66. doi: 10.3854/crm.5.000e.fossil.checklist.v1.2015. hdl: 11336/62240.
- ^ Kehlmaier, C.; López-Jurado, L. F.; Hernández-Acosta, N.; Mateo-Miras, A.; Fritz, U. (2021). ""Ancient DNA" reveals that the scientific name for an extinct tortoise from Cape Verde refers to an extant South American species". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): Article number 17537. Bibcode: 2021NatSR..1117537K. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-97064-2. PMC 8413269. PMID 34475454.
- ^ Georgalis, Georgios L.; Macaluso, Loredana; Delfino, Massimo (2021-04-02). "A Review of the Fossil Record of Afro-Arabian Turtles of the Clade Testudinoidea". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 62 (1). doi: 10.3374/014.062.0103. ISSN 0079-032X.
