The last of the large-sized tortoises of the Mediterranean islands
Valenti, Pietro (Università degli Studi di Palermo. Dipartimento STEBICEF)
Vlachos, Evangelos (Museo Paleontologico Egidio Feruglio (Argentina))
Kehlmaier, Christian (Museum of Zoology (Dresden, Germany))
Fritz, Uwe (Museum of Zoology (Dresden, Germany))
Georgalis, Georgios (Università di Torino. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)
Hernández Luján, Àngel (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Micciche, Roberto (Università degli Studi di Palermo. Dipartimento STEBICEF)
Sineo, Luca (Università degli Studi di Palermo. Dipartimento STEBICEF)
Delfino, Massimo (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Data:	2022
Resum:	Archaeological investigations carried out in the cave Zubbio di Cozzo San Pietro, Bagheria, Sicily, revealed the presence of a few skeletal elements of a large-sized tortoise in a funerary area dating to the Copper/Bronze Age. The tortoise has been AMS-dated revealing an age of 12. 5 ± 0. 5 kyr BP and therefore it pre-dates the funerary activities. The morphology of the retrieved skeletal elements differs from that of the only native tortoise currently living in Sicily, Testudo hermanni. The tortoise's size significantly exceeds the size range of extant Te. hermanni and all Testudo spp. , as well as that of their known fossils, and suggests a shell length of 50-60 cm. Repeated efforts to obtain DNA sequences from the tortoise of Zubbio di Cozzo San Pietro failed, but the morphology of the femur is distinct enough to allow us to erect a new taxon, Solitudo sicula gen. et sp. nov. , based on a parsimony analysis. It belongs to a hitherto unrecognized clade that includes other large-sized tortoises from Mediterranean islands, like Malta and Menorca. A review of the pertinent taxa indicates that the remains here described represent the geologically youngest large-sized tortoise of the Mediterranean area.
Ajuts:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación CGL2016-76431-P Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2019/BP-00154
Nota:	Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya
Nota:	Altres ajuts: Operational Programme Research, Development and Education Project (CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_027/0008360)
Drets:	Tots els drets reservats.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Matèria:	Ancient DNA ; Insular faunas ; Italy ; Latest Late Pleistocene ; Parsimony ; Sicily ; Testudinidae
Publicat a:	Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. 196, Issue 4 (December 2022) , p. 1704-1717, ISSN 1096-3642

DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac044

Postprint 18 p, 526.3 KB

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