The Scontrone turtles – A new insular testudinoid fauna from the late Miocene of the Central Mediterranean

Abstract

We here describe a small turtle assemblage originating from the early Tortonian (late Miocene) palaeois-land of Scontrone, central Italy, a locality previously known mostly for its endemic mammals and giantbirds, which were otherwise shared only with the Gargano localities, another fossiliferous area belongingto the same palaeobioprovince. The fossil turtle remains from Scontrone are referred to the geoemydidMauremyssp. and a so far unidentified large-sized testudinid. The biogeographic origins of theScontrone insular chelonians are discussed. The Scontrone geoemydid adds to the known occurrencesofMauremysin the late Miocene of the Mediterranean. The Scontrone large tortoise represents the oldestknown Mediterranean insular testudinid, predating significantly the well-known Quaternary endemicisland tortoises of the area.