Redescription of the soft-shell turtle Rafetus bohemicus (Testudines, Trionychidae) from the Early Miocene of Czechia
Chroust, Milan (Charles University. Institute of Geology and Palaeontology)
Mazuch, Martin (Charles University. Institute of Geology and Palaeontology)
Ivanov, Martin (Masaryk University. Department of Geological Sciences)
Alba, David M.. (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Luján, Àngel H. (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Date:	2023
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.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2020-117289GBI00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2019/BP-00154
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Trionyx ; Rafetus ; Bohemia ; Most Basin ; Břešt'any ; Burdigalian ; Trionychinae ; Czech Republic
Published in:	PeerJ, Vol. 11 (July 2023) , art. e15658, ISSN 2167-8359

DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15658
PMID: 37525660

43 p, 11.3 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles