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Chelus colombianus (Chelus colombiana)

Osteichthyes - Testudines - Chelidae

Taxonomy
Chelus colombianus was named by Wood (1976). Its type specimen is UCMP 78762, a shell (Nearly complete shell), and it is a 3D body fossil.

It was corrected as Chelus colombiana by Cadena et al. (2008).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1976Chelus lewisi Wood
1976Chelus colombianus Wood p. 2 fig. 1
1988Chelus lewisi Villanueva
2007Chelus colombianus Oliveira and Romano
2007Chelus lewisi Oliveira and Romano
2008Chelus colombiana Cadena et al.
2010Chelus colombianus Riff et al.
2010Chelus colombianus Sanchez-Villagra and Scheyer
2010Chelus lewisi Sanchez-Villagra and Scheyer
2014Chelus colombianus de la Fuente et al.
2014Chelus lewisi de la Fuente et al.
2016Chelus colombianus Ferreira et al.
2016Chelus colombianus Maniel and de la Fuente

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
RankNameAuthor
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
classReptilia
Testudinata(Oppel 1811)
orderTestudinesBatsch 1788
suborderPleurodira
familyChelidaeGray 1825
genusChelusDuméril 1806
speciescolombianus

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.

Chelus colombianus Wood 1976 [Chelus colombiana]
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Invalid names: Chelus lewisi Wood 1976 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
R. Wood 1976Differing from all other South American chelids in having intergular scute withdrawn from anterior margin of carapace, and in hexagonal to octagonal shape of intergular; seven or eight pairs of scutes (in addition to an unpaired gular) on plastron, rather than six pairs; shell between fifty and one hundred per cent larger than that of C. fimbriatus; median ridge of carapace not increasing in prominence toward posterior end.
J. B. Villanueva 1988 (Chelus lewisi)It thus appears that C. lewisi is closely related to C. colombianus.However, the Venezuelan species is distin guished by having a posteriorly flared carapace and tends to be even smaller than indicated by Wood.
E. Cadena et al. 2008Differs from Chelus fimbriata and C. lewisi in the following shell features: midline length of largest known carapaces approximately thirty percent greater (derived condition); posterior process of xiphiplastron shorter and approximately twice as wide (primitive condition); and pubic scar on dorsal surface of xiphiplastron oval in outline and with posterior end broader (derived condition). Differs from C. fimbriata (condition unknown in C. lewisi) in having contact for axillary buttress (i.e., axillary scar) on ventral surface of carapace extending across anteromedial part of second costal and posterolateral part of first costal and almost reaching peripherals (derived condition), versus contact limited to first costal in C. fimbriata. Resembles C. fimbriata in having knobs on dorsal ridges of carapace prominently developed and posterior knobs higher than anterior knobs when seen in lateral view (intermediate condition), versus knobs less prominent and height more uniform along length of carapace (derived condition) in C. lewisi. Resembles C. lewisi in having one or more supernumerary scales sensu Wood (1976:5) separating intergular scale from anterior margin of plastron (derived condition), versus supernumerary scales absent and intergular scale broadly contacts anterior margin of plastron in C. fimbriata. Differs from C. lewisi and, to a lesser extent, C. fimbriata in having lateral end of femoroanal sulcus on ventral surface of xiphiplastron marked by modestsized femoroanal notch in lateral margin of bone (primitive condition); this notch is present, but not nearly as well developed in C. fimbriata. Differs consistently from C. lewisi and some C. fimbriata in having dorsal outline of carapace quadrangular and with lateral sides approximately parallel (intermediate condition); in all known C. lewisi specimens the carapace is expanded posteriorly and the posterolateral edges flare outwards (derived condition), whereas in C. fimbriata the carapace is either quadrangular in Amazonian populations or expanded posteriorly in Orinoquian populations (Sanchez-Villagra, Linares et al., 1995).
G. S. Ferreira et al. 2016Differs from C. fimbriatus by having the following: (1) the suture of the axillary buttress (on the ventral surface of the carapace) extending onto costal 2 instead of costal 1; (2) the inguinal buttress on costal 5, instead of costal 4; (3) one or more supernumerary scutes preventing the intergular scute from reaching the cranial margin of the plastron.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Body part: carapacef
Adult length: 0.1 to < 1.0f
Grouping: solitaryf
Environment: freshwaterf
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: amphibiousf
Diet: piscivoref
Reproduction: oviparousf
Created: 2005-08-25 14:20:51
Modified: 2005-08-26 16:30:55
Source: f = family, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009, Ernst and Barbour 1989

Age range: base of the Burdigalian to the top of the Laventan or 20.45000 to 11.00000 Ma

Collections (15 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Burdigalian20.45 - 15.98Colombia (Cundinamarca) Chelus colombianus (190374)
Burdigalian20.45 - 15.98Colombia (Guajira) Chelus colombiana (190377)
Burdigalian20.45 - 15.98Venezuela (Lara) Chelus colombianus (175185)
Middle Miocene15.98 - 11.63Peru (Loreto) Chelus colombianus (224013)
Middle Miocene15.98 - 11.63Colombia (Tolima) Chelus colombianus (187595)
Laventan13.8 - 11.0Colombia (Huila) Chelus colombianus (187592)
Laventan13.8 - 11.0Colombia (Tolima) Chelus colombianus (187594)
Tortonian11.63 - 7.246Venezuela (Falcon) Chelus lewisi (136777)
Tortonian11.63 - 7.246Brazil (Acre) Chelus colombianus, Chelus lewisi (55602)
Late/Upper Miocene11.63 - 5.333Brazil (Acre) Chelus colombianus (217875)
Late/Upper Miocene11.63 - 5.333Venezuela (Falcón) Chelus lewisi (63520)
Late/Upper Miocene - Pliocene11.63 - 2.58Brazil (Acre) Chelus colombiana (217872 217873) Chelus colombianus (217874) Chelus lewisi, Chelus colombiana (217881)