Pleistocene Fossil Turtles (Testudinoidea, Cryptodira) from the Talara Tar Seeps, Peru

Anthony Deza, Edwin Alberto Cadena Rueda, Jean-Noël Martinez

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    Abstract

    A description of Pleistocene fossil turtles discovered in the Talara Tar Seeps, Tablazos
    deposits of the northern coast of Peru is provided in this paper. The specimens
    are mostly fragmentary plates of carapaces and plastra of turtles belonging to two
    cryptodiran families of the superfamily Testudinoidea, identified to genus level
    based on measurements and comparisons with extant and fossil taxa and identification
    of mosaic diagnostic features. Turtles of the Geoemydidae family are the
    most abundant, with fossil remains attributed to Rhinoclemmys (indeterminate
    species). Less abundant fossil remains belong to the Testudinidae, with specimens
    attributed to the genus Chelonoidis (indeterminate species). These fossils show
    that the northern coast of Peru had ecosystems that supported abundant aquatic
    and terrestrial turtles (tortoises) during the Pleistocene in areas where they are
    completely absent today.
    Translated title of the contributionTortugas fósiles (Testudinoidea, Cryptodira) del Pleistoceno
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)189-200
    Number of pages12
    JournalRevista Peruana de Biologia
    Volume26
    Issue number2
    StatePublished - May 31 2019

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