The Youngest European Record of the Chelonian Family Trionychidae (Calabrian, Central Italy) Offers New Clues on the Quaternary Extirpation History of the Softshell Turtles

We report on the geologically youngest occurrence of the softshell turtle family Trionychidae in Europe, from middle Calabrian (Emilian) strata cropping out at Montalto, Pisa Province (Tuscany, central Italy). This record indicates that the softshell turtles survived well past the glacial pulse at c...

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Main Authors: Alberto Collareta, Simone Casati, Edoardo Terranova, Francesco Nobile, Giulia Bosio, Andrea Di Cencio, Giovanni Coletti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-09-01
Series:Geosciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/14/9/239
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author Alberto Collareta
Simone Casati
Edoardo Terranova
Francesco Nobile
Giulia Bosio
Andrea Di Cencio
Giovanni Coletti
author_facet Alberto Collareta
Simone Casati
Edoardo Terranova
Francesco Nobile
Giulia Bosio
Andrea Di Cencio
Giovanni Coletti
author_sort Alberto Collareta
collection DOAJ
description We report on the geologically youngest occurrence of the softshell turtle family Trionychidae in Europe, from middle Calabrian (Emilian) strata cropping out at Montalto, Pisa Province (Tuscany, central Italy). This record indicates that the softshell turtles survived well past the glacial pulse at ca. 1.8 Ma. That the most recent finds of Trionychidae all over Europe come from mainland Italy further evokes the role of the Apennine peninsula as a refugium for humid-dwelling herpetofaunas through most of the Plio-Pleistocene. Reduced humidity associated with the intensified cool stages at the beginning of the Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition may have been behind the demise of the last European softshell turtles.
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spelling doaj-art-75f3cb505f7c4fc69abbe080ccbd0dc62025-08-20T01:55:31ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632024-09-0114923910.3390/geosciences14090239The Youngest European Record of the Chelonian Family Trionychidae (Calabrian, Central Italy) Offers New Clues on the Quaternary Extirpation History of the Softshell TurtlesAlberto Collareta0Simone Casati1Edoardo Terranova2Francesco Nobile3Giulia Bosio4Andrea Di Cencio5Giovanni Coletti6Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Via Santa Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, ItalyGruppo AVIS Mineralogia e Paleontologia Scandicci, Piazza Vittorio Veneto 1, Badia a Settimo, 50018 Scandicci, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Via Santa Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Via Santa Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Via Santa Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, ItalyGruppo AVIS Mineralogia e Paleontologia Scandicci, Piazza Vittorio Veneto 1, Badia a Settimo, 50018 Scandicci, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze dell’Ambiente e della Terra, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 4, 20126 Milan, ItalyWe report on the geologically youngest occurrence of the softshell turtle family Trionychidae in Europe, from middle Calabrian (Emilian) strata cropping out at Montalto, Pisa Province (Tuscany, central Italy). This record indicates that the softshell turtles survived well past the glacial pulse at ca. 1.8 Ma. That the most recent finds of Trionychidae all over Europe come from mainland Italy further evokes the role of the Apennine peninsula as a refugium for humid-dwelling herpetofaunas through most of the Plio-Pleistocene. Reduced humidity associated with the intensified cool stages at the beginning of the Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition may have been behind the demise of the last European softshell turtles.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/14/9/239Early–Middle Pleistocene TransitionEarly PleistoceneEmilianFaugliaLate VillafranchianMontalto
spellingShingle Alberto Collareta
Simone Casati
Edoardo Terranova
Francesco Nobile
Giulia Bosio
Andrea Di Cencio
Giovanni Coletti
The Youngest European Record of the Chelonian Family Trionychidae (Calabrian, Central Italy) Offers New Clues on the Quaternary Extirpation History of the Softshell Turtles
Geosciences
Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition
Early Pleistocene
Emilian
Fauglia
Late Villafranchian
Montalto
title The Youngest European Record of the Chelonian Family Trionychidae (Calabrian, Central Italy) Offers New Clues on the Quaternary Extirpation History of the Softshell Turtles
title_full The Youngest European Record of the Chelonian Family Trionychidae (Calabrian, Central Italy) Offers New Clues on the Quaternary Extirpation History of the Softshell Turtles
title_fullStr The Youngest European Record of the Chelonian Family Trionychidae (Calabrian, Central Italy) Offers New Clues on the Quaternary Extirpation History of the Softshell Turtles
title_full_unstemmed The Youngest European Record of the Chelonian Family Trionychidae (Calabrian, Central Italy) Offers New Clues on the Quaternary Extirpation History of the Softshell Turtles
title_short The Youngest European Record of the Chelonian Family Trionychidae (Calabrian, Central Italy) Offers New Clues on the Quaternary Extirpation History of the Softshell Turtles
title_sort youngest european record of the chelonian family trionychidae calabrian central italy offers new clues on the quaternary extirpation history of the softshell turtles
topic Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition
Early Pleistocene
Emilian
Fauglia
Late Villafranchian
Montalto
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/14/9/239
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