Manouria morla sp. nov., the Ancient One : an Early Miocene large tortoise from the Swamps of Ahníkov, Czechia
Chroust, Milan (Polish Academy of Sciences. Institute of Paleobiology)
Szczygielski, Tomasz (Polish Academy of Sciences. Institute of Paleobiology)
Hernández Luján, Àngel (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Tortoises (Testudinidae) are a clade of turtles highly specialized to terrestrial environments, mainly living in semi-arid conditions. Herein, we present Manouria morla sp. nov. , a new species of the genus Manouria, which is considered to be the most basal extant testudinid genus. The studied material comes from the Ahníkov I fossil site, formerly known as Merkur or Merkur-North, located in the Most Basin in NW Bohemia (Czechia), dated to the Early Miocene (Burdigalian, MN 3). Manouria morla sp. nov. is the oldest member of the Manouria lineage, which nowadays inhabits SE Asia only, and therefore its biogeography and plausible European origin are discussed. The specific type of multiplication of plastral scutes in the inguinal region is discussed as a new morphological character diagnostic for the genus. Based on zoological studies, specific environmental requirements of the genus Manouria allow us to use this taxon as a proxy for the paleoclimate reconstruction of the Ahníkov I fossil site which suggests a broadleaf evergreen tropical wet forest. The simplified use of fossil testudinids as a proxy for reconstructing semi-arid palaeoclimate is therefore disproven.
Grants:	Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2019/BP-00154
Note:	Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya
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
Published in:	Swiss journal of palaeontology, Vol. 144, Issue 1 (December 2025) , art. 63, ISSN 1664-2384

DOI: 10.1186/s13358-025-00400-6

29 p, 7.2 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