| Autor: |
MEYLAN, PETER A., STERRER, WOLFGANG |
| Zdroj: |
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (prior to Jan 1, 2002); January 2000, Vol. 128 Issue: 1 p51-76, 26p |
| Abstrakt: |
A recently discovered fossil land tortoise (Testudines: Testudinidae) is described from the Pleistocene of Bermuda. Its morphology is sufficiently well preserved to allow assignment to the extinct North American genusHesperotestudo. However, several features of this tortoise are unique and it is named Hesperotestudo bermudaesp. nov. A review of the phylogenetic relationships of the better known genera of the Testudinidae suggests that the affinities ofHesperotestudolie with other North American tortoises (Gopherus) and not with Geocheloneor other testudinines; thus, Hesperotestudois reassigned to the Xerobatinae. This is at least the fifth documentation of a testudinid dispersing over open ocean to an oceanic island (the first for Hesperotestudo) and it corroborates the hypothesis that members of this family are well suited to over-water dispersal. |
| Databáze: |
Supplemental Index |
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