Advanced search
Start date
Betweenand
Related content
(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Review of the fossil matamata turtles: earliest well-dated record and hypotheses on the origin of their present geographical distribution

Full text
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, Ave Bandeirantes 3900, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil
[2] Inst Venezolano Invest Cient, Ctr Ecol, Lab Paleontol, Carretera Panamericana Km 11, Caracas 1020A - Venezuela
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Review article
Source: NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN; v. 103, n. 3-4 2016.
Web of Science Citations: 8
Abstract

The matamata (Chelus fimbriatus) is a highly aquatic chelid turtle known exclusively from northern South America. Due to its extremely modified morphology, it is well circumscribed among living taxa, but that is not the case of the two extinct species ascribed to the taxon, Chelus colombianus and Chelus lewisi. These were originally described for the Miocene of Colombia and Venezuela, respectively, and are known mostly from post-cranial material. Few traits have been considered diagnostic for these fossil taxa, and their shared geographic and temporal distributions raise doubts about their distinctiveness. Here, we describe new turtle remains from the early Miocene Castillo Formation, at Cerro la Cruz, northwestern Venezuela, assigning them to C. colombianus. We also review the taxonomy and diagnostic features of the fossil species of Chelus, comparing them with the variation recognized within C. fimbriatus. All alleged differences between the fossil Chelus species were found in our sample of the extant species, and may represent intraspecific variation of a single fossil species. Further, we reviewed the fossil record of Chelus spp. and proposed a paleobiogeographic hypothesis to explain its present geographic range. (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
FAPESP's process: 14/25379-5 - Evolution, morphology, and development of the pterygoid region in Testudines, focusing on Pleurodira
Grantee:Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate