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Terrapene putnami (box turtle)

Reptilia - Testudines - Emydidae

Discussion

UF 3066 (neotype), complete shell and associated skeletal elements (Ehret et al. 2013, fig. 1) formally replaced AMNH 6097, the original type material of Hay (1906a) (see ICZN 2016).

Taxonomy
Terrapene putnami was named by Hay (1906) ["dredged from the Alifia River" in Florida: catalog number of type not given; modern spelling of river is Alafia]. Its type specimen is UF 3066 (neotype), a partial skeleton (left hypoplastral), and it is a 3D body fossil.

It was recombined as Testudo carolina putnami by Hay (1908) and Auffenberg (1967); it was synonymized subjectively with Testudo carolina by Auffenberg (1958).

Synonyms
  • Terrapene canaliculata was named by Hay (1907) [type "apparently" from "a lot of fossils of Pliocene or Pleistocene age... collected probably previously to 1869, at Whitemarsh Island or Skedaway Island, Georgia, by Dr. J. P. S. Scriver"]. Its type specimen is U. S. National Museum 5500, a partial shell (isolated shell fragments), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Savannah, near, Pleistocene, which is in a Pleistocene terrestrial horizon in Georgia.

    It was synonymized subjectively with Testudo carolina by Auffenberg (1958); it was synonymized subjectively with Terrapene putnami by Vlachos (2018).
  • Terrapene formosa was named by Hay (1916). Its type specimen is USNM 8825 (holotype), a shell (posterior portions of a carapace), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Ocala (precise locality unknown), which is in a Pleistocene marine horizon in the Ocala Formation of Florida.

    It was synonymized subjectively with Terrapene canaliculata by Barbour and Stetson (1931) and Milstead (1956).
  • Terrapene antipex was named by Hay (1916). Its type specimen is UNSM 8820, a partial shell (posterior lobe of the plastron), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Vero, which is in a Pleistocene channel sandstone/sandstone in Florida.

    It was synonymized subjectively with Terrapene canaliculata by Gilmore (1927), Hay (1930), Oelrich (1953) and Milstead (1956); it was synonymized subjectively with Testudo carolina by Auffenberg (1958); it was synonymized subjectively with Terrapene putnami by Vlachos (2018).
  • Terrapene llanensis was named by Oelrich (1953). Its type specimen is UMMP 26957, a partial shell (posterior four-fifths of the carapace, posterior lobe of the plastron, and several appendicular skeletal elements), and it is not a trace fossil.

    It was synonymized subjectively with Terrapene canaliculata by Milstead (1956); it was synonymized subjectively with Terrapene putnami by Vlachos (2018).
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1906Terrapene putnami Hay p. 30
1907Terrapene canaliculata Hay p. 850
1908Testudo carolina putnami Hay
1916Terrapene antipex Hay
1916Terrapene formosa Hay
1927Terrapene canaliculata Gilmore
1930Terrapene canaliculata Hay p. 98
1930Terrapene formosa Hay p. 99
1930Terrapene putnami Hay p. 99
1931Terrapene canaliculata Barbour and Stetson
1953Terrapene canaliculata Oelrich p. 34
1953Terrapene formosa Oelrich p. 34
1953Terrapene putnami Oelrich p. 34
1953Terrapene llanensis Oelrich p. 35
1956Terrapene canaliculata Milstead p. 163
1956Terrapene putnami Milstead p. 167
1967Testudo carolina putnami Auffenberg p. 319
2013Terrapene putnami Ehret et al.
2018Terrapene putnami Vlachos

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
RankNameAuthor
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
—Testudinata(Oppel 1811)
orderTestudinesBatsch 1788
suborderCryptodira
—Pantestudinoidea
superfamilyTestudinoidea
familyEmydidaeRafinesque 1815
genusTerrapeneMerrem 1820
speciesputnami

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.

†Terrapene putnami Hay 1906 [box turtle]
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Invalid names: Terrapene antipex Hay 1916 [synonym], Terrapene canaliculata Hay 1907 [synonym], Terrapene llanensis Oelrich 1953 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
E. Vlachos 2018Terrapene putnami can be diagnosed as a member of Terrapene based on the full list of characters mentioned above. Terrapene putnami differs from other Terrapene by its large size, dorsoventrally depressed shell, widely flared peripherals, and the presence of a well developed axillary scute.