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

Autor(es)

Ferreira, Gabriel S. ^[1] ; Rincon, Ascanio D. ^[2] ; Solorzano, Andres ^[2] ; Langer, Max C. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[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

• Tipo de documento: Artigo de Revisão
• Fonte: NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN; v. 103, n. 3-4 2016.
• Citações Web of Science: 8

Resumo

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)

• Processo FAPESP: 14/03825-3 - A origem e irradiação dos dinossauros no Gondwana (Neotriássico - Eojurássico)
• Beneficiário: Max Cardoso Langer
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 12/11604-1 - Evolução e filogenia de Pleurodira (Testudines) com a descrição de uma nova espécie de Bairdemys (Podocnemidae) do Mioceno médio da Venezuela
• Beneficiário: Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Mestrado
• Processo FAPESP: 14/25379-5 - Evolução, morfologia e desenvolvimento da região do pterigóide em Testudines com foco em Pleurodira
• Beneficiário: Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado