Primer registro fósil de Mesoclemmys Gray, 1873 (Testudines, Chelidae) del Mioceno de Colombia

espite the considerable diversity of the current chelid turtles of South America, represented in 25 different species, their fossil record in the tropical region of the continent has been restricted to the unique occurrence of the genus Chelus, found in several localities of the Miocene of Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru, limiting our knowledge about the origin and past distribution of the other current genus of chelids and the time of divergence between them. The first fossil record of the genus Mesoclemmys Gray, 1873, is presented, represented by an almost complete shell (shell, and plastron), along with some other post-cranial bones found in the La Victoria Formation, of medium Miocene age (approximately 13 million years), of the Tatacoa Desert, Department of Huila, Colombia. Descriptions and comparisons of the fossil with specimens of current species, as well as a phylogenetic analysis allows us to conclude that it is a new taxon currently in definition. The occurrence of Mesoclemmys in the Venta Miocene confirms its evolution as an independent lineage within the chelid turtles for at least the last 13 million years, as well as its ability to withstand climatic and geological events that occurred in northern South America during the Neogene.