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Yang G, Mei Y, Mao Y, Lyu C, Wang H, Dou H, Li J. The complete mitochondrial genome of the red-footed tortoise ( Chelonoidis carbonarius Spix 1824). Mitochondrial DNA B Resour 2024; 9:37-40. [PMID: 38192305 PMCID: PMC10773635 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2023.2298081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of the red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius). The compete mitochondrial genome of C. carbonarius is 16,639 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes. The mitogenome was deposited in NCBI GenBank under the accession number OQ789392. Furthermore, we also constructed a phylogenetic tree of Chelonoidis using eight species. These results will aid the conservation of Chelonoidis from the perspective of genetic evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangda Yang
- Guangdong Wildlife Rescue Monitoring Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yin Mei
- Guangdong Wildlife Rescue Monitoring Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yingjin Mao
- Guangdong Wildlife Rescue Monitoring Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunhe Lyu
- Guangdong Wildlife Rescue Monitoring Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - He Wang
- Guangdong Wildlife Rescue Monitoring Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hongliang Dou
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jun Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, China
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2
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Pedro Selvatti A, Romero Rebello Moreira F, Cardoso de Carvalho D, Prosdocimi F, Augusta de Moraes Russo C, Carolina Martins Junqueira A. Phylogenomics reconciles molecular data with the rich fossil record on the origin of living turtles. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2023; 183:107773. [PMID: 36977459 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/28/2023]
Abstract
Although a consensus exists that all living turtles fall within either Pleurodira or Cryptodira clades, estimating when these lineages split is still under debate. Most molecular studies date the split in the Triassic Period, whereas a Jurassic age is unanimous among morphological studies. Each hypothesis implies different paleobiogeographical scenarios to explain early turtle evolution. Here we explored the rich turtle fossil record with the Fossilized Birth-Death (FBD) and the traditional node dating (ND) methods using complete mitochondrial genomes (147 taxa) and a set of nuclear orthologs with over 10 million bp (25 taxa) to date the major splits in Testudines. Our results support an Early Jurassic split (191-182 Ma) for the crown Testudines with great consistency across different dating methods and datasets, with a narrow confidence interval. This result is independently supported by the oldest fossils of Testudines that postdate the Middle Jurassic (174 Ma), which were not used for calibration in this study. This age coincides with the Pangaea fragmentation and the formation of saltwater barriers such as the Atlantic Ocean and the Turgai Strait, supporting that diversification in Testudines was triggered by vicariance. Our ages of the splits in Pleurodira coincide with the geologic events of the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Conversely, the early Cryptodira radiation remained in Laurasia, and its diversification ensued as all its major lineages expanded their distribution into every continent during the Cenozoic. We provide the first detailed hypothesis of the evolution of Cryptodira in the Southern Hemisphere, in which our time estimates are correlated with each contact between landmasses derived from Gondwana and Laurasia. Although most South American Cryptodira arrived through the Great American Biotic Interchange, our results indicate that the Chelonoidis ancestor probably arrived from Africa through the chain islands of the South Atlantic during the Paleogene. Together, the presence of ancient turtle diversity and the vital role that turtles occupy in marine and terrestrial ecosystems underline South America as a chief area for conservation.
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Kehlmaier C, Graciá E, Ali JR, Campbell PD, Chapman SD, Deepak V, Ihlow F, Jalil NE, Pierre-Huyet L, Samonds KE, Vences M, Fritz U. Ancient DNA elucidates the lost world of western Indian Ocean giant tortoises and reveals a new extinct species from Madagascar. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eabq2574. [PMID: 36630487 PMCID: PMC9833658 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq2574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Before humans arrived, giant tortoises occurred on many western Indian Ocean islands. We combined ancient DNA, phylogenetic, ancestral range, and molecular clock analyses with radiocarbon and paleogeographic evidence to decipher their diversity and biogeography. Using a mitogenomic time tree, we propose that the ancestor of the extinct Mascarene tortoises spread from Africa in the Eocene to now-sunken islands northeast of Madagascar. From these islands, the Mascarenes were repeatedly colonized. Another out-of-Africa dispersal (latest Eocene/Oligocene) produced on Madagascar giant, large, and small tortoise species. Two giant and one large species disappeared c. 1000 to 600 years ago, the latter described here as new to science using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. From Madagascar, the Granitic Seychelles were colonized (Early Pliocene) and from there, repeatedly Aldabra (Late Pleistocene). The Granitic Seychelles populations were eradicated and later reintroduced from Aldabra. Our results underline that integrating ancient DNA data into a multi-evidence framework substantially enhances the knowledge of the past diversity of island faunas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Kehlmaier
- Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany
| | - Eva Graciá
- Ecology Area, Department of Applied Biology, Miguel Hernández University, 03202 Elche, Spain
- Center for Agrifood and Agro-environmental Research and Innovation (CIAGRO-UMH), Miguel Hernández University, 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - Jason R. Ali
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Patrick D. Campbell
- Department of Life Sciences, Darwin Centre (DC1), Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Sandra D. Chapman
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - V. Deepak
- Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany
| | - Flora Ihlow
- Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany
| | - Nour-Eddine Jalil
- Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie Paris (CR2P), UMR 7207 CNRS-MNHN-Sorbonne Université (CP 38), 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
- Museum of Natural History of Marrakech, Department of Geology–FSS, University Cadi Ayyad, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco
| | - Laure Pierre-Huyet
- Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Direction générale déléguée aux collections, Reptiles et Amphibiens (CP 30), 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Karen E. Samonds
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA
| | - Miguel Vences
- Braunschweig University of Technology, Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Mendelsohnstraße 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Uwe Fritz
- Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany
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de la Fuente MS, Romano Muñoz CO, González Ruiz P, Garrido AC, Forasiepi AM, Jannello JM, Maniel IJ. Tortoises and turtles from Huayquerías del Este (late Miocene-early Pliocene), Mendoza, Argentina. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2022. [PMID: 36576217 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
We report new occurrences of Testudinidae and Chelidae from 11 different fossil sites in the Huayquerías and Tunuyán formations (late Miocene-Pliocene) in the Huayquerías del Este, Mendoza, Argentina. A total of 36 specimens were collected, representing at least three taxa from two different clades: 80.6% Testudinidae and 19.4% Chelidae. Testudinids are present throughout the stratigraphic succession, in alluvial, fluvial, and interdune sedimentary environments, represented by dorsal and plastron carapace plates, with some remains of the appendicular skeleton. A complete articulated plastron with some peripheral plates of the carapace was also recognized and is assigned to the extant species Chelonoidis chilensis, representing the oldest record for this taxon (late Miocene, Messinian). Another possible morphotype was recognized in the form of a large scapular girdle and femur that likely corresponded to an individual with a dorsal carapace of about 80 cm. This assemblage of small and large tortoise species is recognized for first time in the Messinian Age/Stage of Mendoza. Chelids are mostly restricted to fluvial deposits in the upper part of the Huayquerías Formation, except for two specimens which appear in the lower part. One specimen is represented by a right half plastron of an indeterminate Chelidae species which could correspond to a carapace of up to 24 cm in length with plastral lobes narrower than those observed in Phrynops species. Another specimen is characterized by a large costovertebral tunnel in the carapace, peripheral plates of the posterior margin of the carapace with ornamentation of fine grooves forming irregular polygons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo S de la Fuente
- Instituto de Evolución, Ecología Histórica y Ambiente (IDEVEA) CONICET-UTN-FRSR, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina
- CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Cristo O Romano Muñoz
- CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), Centro Científico y Tecnológico (CCT) Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Pablo González Ruiz
- Instituto de Evolución, Ecología Histórica y Ambiente (IDEVEA) CONICET-UTN-FRSR, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina
- CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alberto C Garrido
- Museo Provincial de Ciencias Naturales "Prof. Dr. Juan Olsacher", Dirección Provincial de Minería, Etcheluz y Ejército Argentino, Zapala, Neuquén, Argentina
- Centro de Investigación en Geociencias de la Patagonia - CIGPat, Departamento de Geología y Petróleo, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Buenos Aires, Neuquén, Argentina
| | - Analía M Forasiepi
- CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), Centro Científico y Tecnológico (CCT) Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Juan M Jannello
- Instituto de Evolución, Ecología Histórica y Ambiente (IDEVEA) CONICET-UTN-FRSR, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina
- CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ignacio J Maniel
- Instituto de Evolución, Ecología Histórica y Ambiente (IDEVEA) CONICET-UTN-FRSR, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina
- CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Vlachos E, de la Fuente MS, Sterli J. A new large‐sized species of
Chelonoidis
(Testudinidae) without gibbosities from the middle Miocene of Aguada Escondida (
NW
Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2022; 306:1548-1557. [PMID: 36114630 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Previously, only one small-sized species of Testudinidae (Chelonoidis gringorum) was named from Lower-Middle Miocene of Central Patagonia. In this short article, we describe a new large Testudinidae, here named Chelonoidis meridiana sp. nov. This large new species (carapace up to 80 cm) differs from other large species of the southern South American fossil record by the absence of gibbosities on neural and costal carapacial bones, a short and wide entoplastron with a humeropectoral sulcus that was placed well behind its posterior end, and pectoral scutes that are medially longer, approximately one-third of the medial length of the hyoplastra. The discovery of this new species in the Middle Miocene increases the raw turtle diversity in Chubut, permitting to reduce the gap between the raw and phylogenetic diversity previously proposed. This occurrence is also important from both a temporal and geographic point of view. It permits fixing the presence of large-sized tortoises in the continent since ~15 million years ago (Middle Miocene). This occurrence predates all other large and giant tortoises from Argentina and South America and it is older than the giant Chelonoidis from the Langhian-Tortonian of Colombia. This is also the southernmost occurrence of a large-sized testudinid in the world.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcelo S. de la Fuente
- Instituto de Evolución, Ecología Histórica y Ambiente (IDEVEA‐UTN FRSR) CONICET Mendoza Argentina
| | - Juliana Sterli
- CONICET‐Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio Trelew Argentina
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Lacerda MBS, Romano PSR, Bandeira KLN, Souza LGDE. Georeferencing fossiliferous localities from Solimões and Acre Basins (Brazil) - what we know so far about Solimões Formation and future perspectives. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2021; 93:e20201642. [PMID: 34378649 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202120201642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The Solimões and Acre basins are complex geological units related to the Andean uplift, covering the Northwestern region of Brazil, being one of the most important units due to their fossil diversity. In order to produce a document that integrates part of the fossil records of this region, we compiled/georeferenced localities from literature on which tetrapods are described, focusing on Solimões Formation but not restricted to this unit. We were able to recognize 208 localities, documented in over two centuries of reports of fossils from several taxonomic groups from the proto-Amazonia, 199 new entries in Paleobiology Database. We summarize, for each locality, its geographical position, geological information, age, and data of the paleodiversity. Most outcrops in the Amazonia region are located on river banks (~96%), while road cuts and other non-riverside outcrops represent the remainder (~4%). Most tetrapod are Mammalia, followed by Testudinata, and Crocodyliformes. This work reinforces the need for a more controlled and refined prospecting at the Solimões/Acre Basins, especially in the Solimões Formation, which represents the majority of fossiliferous records, to help answer old questions, such as dating, and new ones, here discussed, such as the paleodiversity patterns and temporal distribution among the mapped localities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro B S Lacerda
- , Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Pedro S R Romano
- Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Centro de Ciências Biológicas II (CCB2), Av. P.H. Rolfs, s/n, 36570-900 Viçosa, MG, Brazil
| | - Kamila L N Bandeira
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de Paleontologia e Geologia, Museu Nacional, Quinta da Boa Vista, s/n, São Cristóvão, 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Lucy G DE Souza
- Museu da Amazônia, Av. Margarita, 6305, Jorge Teixeira, 10795-265 Manaus AM, Brazil
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