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Namibchersus namaquensis
Taxonomy
Testudo namaquensis was named by Stromer (1926). It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Elisabethfeld, which is in a Miocene fluvial siltstone/sandstone in the Elisabeth Bay Formation of Namibia.
It was recombined as Geochelone namaquensis by Meylan and Auffenberg (1986); it was recombined as Namibchersus namaquensis by de Lapparent de Broin (2003), de Lapparent de Broin (2008), Vlachos and Rabi (2018) and Georgalis et al. (2021).
It was recombined as Geochelone namaquensis by Meylan and Auffenberg (1986); it was recombined as Namibchersus namaquensis by de Lapparent de Broin (2003), de Lapparent de Broin (2008), Vlachos and Rabi (2018) and Georgalis et al. (2021).
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1926 | Testudo namaquensis Stromer |
| 1986 | Geochelone namaquensis Meylan and Auffenberg p. 281 |
| 2003 | Namibchersus namaquensis de Lapparent de Broin |
| 2008 | Namibchersus namaquensis de Lapparent de Broin |
| 2018 | Namibchersus namaquensis Vlachos and Rabi p. 663 |
| 2021 | Namibchersus namaquensis Georgalis et al. |
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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.
†Namibchersus namaquensis Stromer 1926
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| F. de Lapparent de Broin 2003 | Large terrestrial Testudinidae, the carapace substantially exceeding 80 cm in length, with the schema of the suprapygalpygal and marginals 12 of the “Geochelone” type (but with the posterior sulcus of vertebral 5 crossing the lentil in the arc of a circle towards the front) and peripherals 4 and 6 and the marginals of the bridge enlarged, rising as an arc of a circle at the expense of the pleurals; more evolved than Gigantochersina (at least where it is known) mainly by its constant peripheral points, its quadrangular neural 1 in all the cases, its dorsal epiplastral lip less projecting and always with convergent margins, dorsally more elevated and recurved into an overhang in front of or up to the entoplastron, and its complete pleuro-peripheral coincidence. Morphologically close to Astrochelys yniphora (more so than in A. radiata, which is less derived). It is less specialised than A. yniphora by its unfused gulars and apparent absence of the gular spur present in the male of the latter, the dorsal plates are not thinned, the dorsal epiplastral lip is not concave from front to back and its form is less arched. It is more derived by the longer and more sinuous ventral lip of the nuchal plate with slight rounding of the marginals 1 border, and by the laterally shorter inguinals. It is derived following a different trend from Astrochelys by the slightly flat to convex dorsal epiplastral lip, widening behind with almost parallel gularohumeral sulci. Other derived homoplastic features, but which are diagnostic when combined: pygal high and convex, especially in males; epiplastra elbowed in front of the moderate gular projection; gulars partly overlapping the entoplastron; entoplastron enlarged in the adult; elbowed humero-pectoral sulcus; the femoro-anal sulcus not notably narrowed; anal notch wide and moderately long; dorsal femoro-anal margin wide, in particular at the xiphiplastral points; the part of the femorals covering the xiphiplastra long in comparison to the anals; axillaries transverse triangular, big inguinals in an arc of a circle, from the posterior part of the marginals 7 to a small part of the femorals. | |
| G. L. Georgalis et al. 2021 | Namibchersus namaquensis can be diagnosed as a
member of Testudinidae and Geochelona by the full list of shell and appendicular characters provided for these clades above. Namibchersus namaquensis can be differentiated from other testudinids by the unique combination of the following characters: large size (carapace length exceeding 80 cm), an arched carapace, a dorsally narrow shell, absence of a deep nuchal notch, presence of prominent and relatively elongated cervical scute, absence of a dorsal bump on neural I, absence of contact of marginals IV with pleurals II, pygal high and convex (especially in males), unfused gulars that partly overlap the entoplastron, epiplastral lip slightly flat to convex dorsally and robust laterally, anal notch wide and moderately long, and large inguinal and axillary scutes. |