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Titanochelon
Discussion
Titanochelon is a new genus created to included mainly the Neogene large testudinids from Europe, which were previously included in the genus Cheirogaster Bergounioux (1935)
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Taxonomy
Titanochelon was named by Pérez-García and Vlachos (2014). It was considered monophyletic by Pérez-García and Vlachos (2014).
It was assigned to Testudininae by Vlachos and Rabi (2018), Perez-Garcia et al. (2021); to Geochelonini by Vlachos (2021), Pappa et al. (2023); and to Testudinidae by Pérez-García and Vlachos (2014), Pérez-García et al. (2017), Vlachos et al. (2019), Vega‐Pagán et al. (2025).
It was assigned to Testudininae by Vlachos and Rabi (2018), Perez-Garcia et al. (2021); to Geochelonini by Vlachos (2021), Pappa et al. (2023); and to Testudinidae by Pérez-García and Vlachos (2014), Pérez-García et al. (2017), Vlachos et al. (2019), Vega‐Pagán et al. (2025).
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Titanochelon Pérez-García and Vlachos |
| 2017 | Titanochelon Pérez-García et al. |
| 2018 | Titanochelon Vlachos and Rabi p. 663 |
| 2019 | Titanochelon Vlachos et al. |
| 2021 | Titanochelon Perez-Garcia et al. |
| 2021 | Titanochelon Vlachos |
| 2023 | Titanochelon Pappa et al. |
| 2025 | Titanochelon Vega‐Pagán et al. |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. †Titanochelon Pérez-García and Vlachos 2014
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†Titanochelon bacharidisi Vlachos et al. 2014
†Titanochelon bolivari Hernandez-Pacheco 1917
†Titanochelon ginsburgi Broin 1977
†Titanochelon kayadibiensis Karl et al. 2021
†Titanochelon perpiniana Depéret 1885
†Titanochelon punicum Arambourg 1979
†Titanochelon richardi Bergounioux 1938
†Titanochelon schafferi Szalai 1931
†Titanochelon schleichi Pappa et al. 2023
†Titanochelon vitodurana Biedermann 1862
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Invalid names: Testudo picteti Biedermann 1862 [synonym]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| E. Vlachos 2021 | The members of Geochelonini represented in the Greek fossil record can be easily distinguished from those belonging to Testudinini (see below) based on several characters from the shell: large size, with individuals that reach or exceed one meter in carapace length; absence of cervical scute; contact between marginal 6 and pleural 3; and absence of a plastral hinge. | |
| I. Pappa et al. 2023 | belongs to Geochelonini based on the contact between the pleural 3 and marginal 6 | |
| K. A. Vega‐Pagán et al. 2025 | Species of Titanochelon with shell length reaching over 100 cm with an elongate (longer than wide) and slightly rounded shell. Low skull with straight dorsal profile; slightly laterally concave maxillae; mediolaterally constricted frontals and posteriorly constricted narrow prefrontal–frontal region at the level of the orbits in dorsal view; notably slender orbital rims; moderately deep upper temporal emargination (i.e. parietal–frontal suture 1.5 times as long as the parietal– postorbital); prootic anteroposteriorly long and narrow; straight and slightly posterodorsally projected crista supraoccipitalis; premaxillary cusp present; elliptical premaxillary pit, and triturating surface with a marked commissural ridge; lack of tooth-like tubercles on the median maxillary ridge (= accessory ridge); in posterior view, fenestra postotica open; foramen jugulare posterius located in exoccipital; presence of a medial tooth on the dentary hook; interdigitated suture between dentary and surangular; small foramen nervi auriculotemporalis and foramen intermandibularis caudalis present; angular not contributing to the sulcus cartilaginis meckelii; and prearticular bone not extending beyond the coronoid in lingual view. Shell with a marked nuchal notch, anterior protrusion of nuchal and lack of cervical scute; trilobed anterior plastral lobe; anteriorly protruding gulars; globular dorsal morphology of epiplastral border; well-developed gular pocket; gular scutes either posteriorly rounded or diagonally straight; gular scutes to entoplastron contact absent or overlapping; lateral portion of humero-pectoral sulcus perpendicular to the axial plane with anteriorly convex lateral parts and located posterior to the entoplastron; medially V-shaped pectoroabdominal sulci with abdominal scutes that slightly protrude anteriorly; and omega-shaped femoro-anal sulcus. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Hendy et al. 2009, Ernst and Barbour 1989, Carroll 1988 | |||||
Collections (74 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early/Lower Miocene | Portugal (Lisbon) | Testudo bolivari (184304) | |
| Burdigalian | Portugal (Lisbon) | T. bolivari (35989) | |
| Burdigalian | Spain (Catalonia) | T. bolivari (205815) | |
| Burdigalian | Spain (Lardero) | T. bolivari (217466 217467) | |
| Burdigalian - Langhian | Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg) | Geochelone sp. (106003) | |
| Orleanian | Spain (Madrid) | Geochelone bolivari (40747) | |
| MN 4 | France (Centre) | Testudo ginsburgi (69116) | |
| Langhian | Germany (Bavaria) | Geochelone perpiniana (34615) | |
| Langhian | Portugal (Lisbon) | T. bolivari (35986) | |
| Langhian | Spain | T. bolivari (187337 187341) | |
| Langhian | Spain (Catalonia) | T. sp. (180192) | |
| MN 5 - MN 6 | Portugal | Testudo bolivari (65912) | |
| MN 5 - MN 6 | Türkiye (Ankara) | Cheirogaster bolivari (68561) | |
| Langhian - Serravallian | Spain | T. bolivari (187338 187347) | |
| Middle Miocene | Spain | Cheirogaster bolivari (144667) Testudo bolivari (144666) | |
| Middle Miocene | Spain (Madrid) | Cheirogaster bolivari (197674) | |
| Middle Miocene | Türkiye (Mugla) | Cheirogaster bolivari (184394) | |
| Middle Miocene | Spain (Segovia) | Cheirogaster bolivari (208187) | |
| Middle Miocene | Portugal (Azambuja Municipality) | T. bolivari (184303) | |
| Badenian | Czechia (Brno) | T. sp. (207955) | |
| Serravallian | Switzerland (Zurich) | Testudo picteti (198617) Testudo vitodurana (198616) | |
| Serravallian | Spain | Testudo sp. (187336) T. bolivari (187339 187342 187343 187344 187345 187346) | |
| Sarmatian | Türkiye | Cheirogaster bolivari (56563) | |
| MN 7 + 8 | Spain (Cataluña) | Testudo richardi (92640) | |
| Vallesian | Spain (Catalonia) | T. richardi (193491 193496 275763) | |
| Vallesian | Spain | Cheirogaster richardi (144670) | |
| Tortonian | Spain | T. bolivari (187340) | |
| Tortonian | Germany (Bavaria) | T. sp. (206345) | |
| Late/Upper Miocene | Türkiye (Konya) | Cheirogaster bolivari (184395) | |
| Late/Upper Miocene | Greece (Pieria) | T. sp. (226433 226434 226435 226437 226439 226440) | |
| Late/Upper Miocene | Greece (Aegean) | Testudo schafferi (182751) Testudo sp. (202120) | |
| Late/Upper Miocene | Greece (Attica) | Testudo schafferi (182754) Testudo sp. (183121) | |
| Late/Upper Miocene | Greece (Kassandra) | T. sp. (202330) | |
| Late/Upper Miocene | Türkiye (Afyon) | Cheirogaster bolivari (184398) | |
| Late/Upper Miocene | Greece (Chalkidona) | Testudo sp. (182750) | |
| MN 10 | Spain (Madrid) | Testudinidae indet. (197661) | |
| MN 11 | Spain (Alicante) | Cheirogaster bolivari (68914) | |
| Turolian | Greece (Makedonia Thraki) | Chelonia indet. (157582) | |
| Messinian | Greece | T. schafferi (95690 95691) | |
| Early/Lower Pliocene | Bulgaria (Yambol) | Testudo sp. (184410) | |
| Early/Lower Pliocene | Tunisia (Bizerte ) | Testudo punica (211247) | |
| Early/Lower Pliocene | Spain (Murcia) | T. sp. (185681) | |
| Zanclean | France (Pyrénées-Orientales) | Testudo perpiniana (178672) | |
| Early/Lower Pliocene - Late/Upper Pliocene | Greece (Thessaloniki) | Cheirogaster bacharidisi (182672 182673 182674) | |
| Pliocene | France (Languedoc-Roussillon Region) | Testudo perpiniana (36103) | |
| Zanclean - Piacenzian | France (Languedoc-Roussillon Region) | Cheirogaster perpiniana (36985) | |
| Ruscinian | Greece | Testudo sp. (36579) | |
| Late/Upper Pliocene | Spain (Alcolea de Calatrava) | Cheirogaster sp. (224542) | |
| Late/Upper Pliocene | Greece (Grevena) | T. sp. (185859) | |
| Gelasian | Spain (Granada) | T. sp. (77773) | |
| Early/Lower Pleistocene | Greece (Lesvos) | Testudinata indet. (183341) |