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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

The last marine pelomedusoids (Testudines: Pleurodira): a new species of Bairdemys and the paleoecology of Stereogenyina

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Author(s):
Ferreira, Gabriel S. [1] ; Rincon, Ascanio D. [2] ; Solorzano, Andres [2] ; Langer, Max C. [1]
Total Authors: 4
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sao Paulo, FFCLRP, Lab Paleontol Ribeirao Preto, BR-14049 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil
[2] Inst Venezolano Invest Cient, Ctr Ecol, Lab Paleontol, Caracas - Venezuela
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Journal article
Source: PeerJ; v. 3, JUN 30 2015.
Web of Science Citations: 17
Abstract

The extinct Stereogenyina turtles form a relatively diverse Podocnemididae lineage, with twelve described and phylogenetically positioned species. They are characterized by a wide geographic and temporal range, from the Eocene of Africa to the Pleistocene of Southeast Asia, and a peculiar palate morphology, with a secondary palate that is unique among side-necked turtles. Here, we describe a new Stereogenyina species, based on an almost complete skull from the middle Miocene Capadare Formation, of Venezuela. A new phylogenetic analysis supports the assignment of the new species to the genus Bairdemys. Based on geometric morphometrics analyses, we related the development of the stereogenyin secondary palate with the acquisition of a durophagous diet. Based on a review of the sedimentary environments where their fossils are found, we also propose that stereogenyins were a marine radiation of podocnemidid turtles, as corroborated by previous studies of fossil eggs and limb morphology. These two inferences allowed us to hypothesize that stereogenyins occupied an ecological niche similar to that of the extant Carettini sea turtles, and that the rise of the latter group may be related to the Stereogenyina diversity fall in the end of the Miocene. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 14/03825-3 - The origin and rise of dinosaurs in Gondwana (late Triassic - early Jurassic)
Grantee:Max Cardoso Langer
Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
FAPESP's process: 12/11604-1 - Evolution and phylogeny of Pleurodira (Testudines) with the description of a new species of Bairdemys (Podocnemidae) from the middle Miocene of Venezuela
Grantee:Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master