El Grupo de Biología evolutiva de la UNED ha defendido varios trabajos relativos al estudio de tortugas fósiles europeas, africanas y centroamericanas en el recientemente celebrado el XVII Annual Meeting de la EAVP. Las cronologías de los yacimientos analizados son muy diversas, correspondiendo al Cretácico Inferior (Albiense de Teruel), Cretácico Superior (Maastrichtiense de Niger), Paleógeno (Eoceno de Huesca) y Neógeno (Plio-Pleistoceno de El Salvador).
Siguiendo un orden de exposición cronológico, presentamos ahora el resumen correspondiente a las tortugas basales (Solemydidae o Helochelydridae) del Cretácico Inferior de Ariño (Teruel):
The lower Albian (Lower Cretaceous) Spanish vertebrate locality of Santa María Quarry, in Ariño (Teruel Province, Aragón), provided abundant remains of several individuals that were attributed to a new freshwater turtle, Toremys cassiopeia. This taxon corresponds to the youngest representative of Paracryptodira Pleurosternidae so far identified. Although this turtle is the only one from the Santa María Quarry studied so far, it does not correspond to the only representative identified in the site. Thus, a clade of terrestrial primitive turtles (i.e. stem Testudines) is also well represented. It is Solemydidae. As in the case of the pleurosternids, the solemydids are known both in North America and in Europe. The solemydids are scarce at the Upper Jurassic levels, but relatively abundant in the European Cretaceous record, its greatest diversity being recorded during the Lower Cretaceous. The Iberian record of Solemydidae hitherto known is composed of fragmentary remains, those from the Lower Cretaceous being scarce. The findings of Solemydidae performed in Ariño are an exception. Thus, sets of disjointed or partially articulated elements, including partial skeletons and relatively complete shells, are recognized. A shell of Solemydidae from Ariño is here presented for the first time. It shows an ornamental pattern composed of tubercles. The arrangement of these tubercles, as well as other anatomical characters, especially those related to the morphology and disposition of some of its plates and scutes, allow us to make a first approximation on the systematic position of this Spanish form, taking into account the European Lower Cretaceous record.
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Más información:
- Imagen: Detalle de la ornamentación de una placa de Solemydidae del Cretácico Inferior de Europa.
- Referencia: A. Pérez-García, E. Espílez, L. Mampel, L. Alcalá. 2019. First data about the solemydidae turtles from the Lower Cretaceous of Ariño (Teruel, Spain). XVII Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists, Abstract Book, 89.
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