Melanochelys tapani Garbin et al. 2020 (Indian black turtles)

Reptilia - Testudines - Geoemydidae

Etymology. The specific name is in honour of the late Prof. Tapan Roy Chowdhury of the Indian Statistical Institute, the distinguished teacher and researcher of Indian fossils, who established a school of vertebrate palaeontologists in India.

Full reference: R. Garbin, S. Bandyopadhyay, and W. G. Joyce. 2020. A taxonomic revision of geoemydid turtles from Siwalik-age of India and Pakistan. European Journal of Taxonomy 652:1-67

Belongs to Melanochelys according to R. Garbin et al. 2020

Sister taxa: Melanochelys sivalensis, Melanochelys tricarinata, Melanochelys trijuga

Type specimen: BMNH 39839, a shell (a near complete fossil shell). Its type locality is Siwalik Hills, which is in a Pliocene/Pleistocene fluvial horizon in the Pinjor Formation of Pakistan.

Ecology: aquatic omnivore

Distribution: found only at Siwalik Hills

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Specimen images are retrieved through the ePANDDA API.


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