El esqueleto apendicular de Algorachelus peregrina en el XXI EJIP/6th IMERP

El esqueleto apendicular de las tortugas no es muy abundante en los yacimientos paleontológicos, y por ello, apenas ha sido estudiado. Sin embargo, es importante para el estudio de su paleobiología. En cuanto a la biología de las tortugas, en la actualidad podemos encontrar tortugas terrestres, marinas y de agua dulce, pero en el pasado también existían tortugas exclusivas de ambientes costeros. Algorachelus peregrina se interpreta como una de estas tortugas costeras, pero no se ha realizado todavía un análisis en profundidad de su paleobiología. Así, en el pasado XXI Encuentro de Jóvenes Investigadores en Paleontología (EJIP) celebrado en Lourinhã se presentó una caracterización preliminar de su esqueleto apendicular con el objetivo de dar las primeras claves para entender cómo era el modo de vida de este animal. El resumen es el siguiente:

The fossil record of turtles is very abundant and diverse, especially from the Late Jurassic to the present. Given the peculiar body plan of this lineage, the find of plates or even more or less complete shells, is very common in many vertebrate paleontological sites. Given the interest of the analysis of the shell remains to perform precise systematic attributions, and of the much less abundant skulls, other skeletal remains have received relatively scarce attention. This is the case of the appendicular elements, ignored or barely analysed for many extinct representatives for which, however, some of these bones were found. 

The palaeontological locality of Algora (Guadalajara, central Spain) represents the highest concentration of vertebrate remains for the European Cenomanian record. The analysis of this fauna is providing many new data on knowledge about the vertebrate faunas of the base of the Upper Cretaceous, which notably differ from those of the Lower Cretaceous. Thus, the oldest European representatives of several lineages represented in the uppermost Cretaceous of this continent are recognized there. In this sense, Algora is the type locality of the oldest bothremydid turtle (Pleurodira, Podocnemidoidea) identified in Europe: Algorachelus peregrina. The lineage of Algorachelus represents the oldest dispersal event of Pleurodira from Gondwana to Laurasia so far identified. 

Algorachelus peregrina is the most abundant taxon in Algora, hundreds of remains having been found. Among them, abundant appendicular elements regarding any other pleurodire described in Europe are included. They are generally found as isolated bones. Nevertheless, there is not an exhaustive study about the appendicular elements of Algorachelus yet. The objective proposed here is the preliminary analysis about its appendicular elements to understand the paleobiology of this turtle, which has been proposed as a littoral form, most pleurodires (including all those that are part of current biodiversity) being freshwater taxa.

-----

Más información:

• Referencia: Gutiérrez-Gálvez, M., Pérez-García, A. 2023. Preliminary morphological characterization of the appendicular skeleton of the turtle Algorachelus peregrina (Pleurodira, Bothremydidae) from its type locality (Cenomanian of Algora, Central Spain). In Estraviz-López et al. (Eds.), Abstracts book of XXI EJIP / 6th IMERP. Palaeontological publications 3, 52.