Reptilia - Testudines - Podocnemididae
Maturin refers to the giant turtle that vomited out the universe in Stephen Kings stories, which in turn was inspired by the character Stephen Maturin who, in the book H.M.S. Surprise of Patrick OBrians Aubrey-Maturin series, names a giant tortoise.
Full reference: G. S. Ferreira, E. R. Nascimento, E. A. Cadena, M. A. Cozzuol, B. M. Farina, M. L. A. F. Pacheco, M. A. Rizzutto and M. C. Langer. 2024. The latest freshwater giants: a new Peltocephalus (Pleurodira: Podocnemididae) turtle from the Late Pleistocene of the Brazilian Amazon. Biology Letters 20(20240010):1-7
Belongs to Peltocephalus according to G. S. Ferreira et al. 2024
Sister taxon: Peltocephalus dumerilianus
Type specimen: MERO.PV.H 007, a mandible. Its type locality is Taquaras Quarry, which is in a Pleistocene terrestrial conglomerate in the Rio Madeira Formation of Brazil.
Ecology: aquatic herbivore-carnivore
Distribution: found only at Taquaras Quarry
Specimen images are retrieved through the ePANDDA API.
Click image to enlarge. Click to access iDigBio record.