Redescription of the soft-shell turtle Rafetus bohemicus (Testudines, Trionychidae) from the Early Miocene of Czechia
Author:
Chroust Milan12,
Mazuch Martin1,
Ivanov Martin3,
Alba David M.4,
Luján Àngel H.34
Affiliation:
1. Charles University, Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Prague, Czech Republic
2. Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Department of Paleobiology and Paleoecology, Prague, Czech Republic
3. Masaryk University, Department of Geological Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
4. Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
Abstract
The taxonomy of the soft-shell turtle Rafetus bohemicus (Liebus, 1930), family Trionychidae, subfamily Trionychinae, is revised based on new and previously mentioned material (including the type material) from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian, MN 3) sites of the Most Basin, Czechia. Given that the diagnosis was so far based only on plastral elements, here we focused on the cranial material and combined our study with previously published data on postcranial elements. 3D models of the skulls derived from CT scans allow us to provide the first complete skull description of R. bohemicus, including several new cranial diagnostic characters of the species. Our results not only enable the distinction of the trionychid genera Trionyx and Rafetus, both recorded from Central Europe during the Early Miocene, but further allow us to provide an emended diagnosis for R. bohemicus. We confirm the conclusions of a previous study according to which Trionyx pontanus, T. preschenensis, T. aspidiformis, and T. elongatus are nomina dubia. R. bohemicus from Břešt’any (MN 3) represents the oldest record of this genus in Europe as well as the oldest occurrence of the genus.
Funder
The Charles University in Prague
The Research Plan of the Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences
The Agencia Estatal de Investigación
The Operational Programme Research, Development and Education–Project “Postdoc@MUNI”
The Generalitat de Catalunya/CERCA Programme
The Beatriu de Pinós postdoctoral programme
The Faculty of Science at the Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic
Subject
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine,General Neuroscience
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