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Chelonoidis dominicensis
Discussion
Etymology: We take pleasure in naming this new fossil tortoise from the La Altagracia, Dominican Republic, Chelonoidis dominicensis in honor of the people of the Dominican Republic.
Taxonomy
Chelonoidis dominicensis was named by Albury et al. (2018). Its type specimen is MHD 1000, a partial skeleton (adult male, with complete carapace and plastron (separated at the bridge), skull, cervical vertebrae, scapula (L/R), coracoid (L/R), humerus (L/R), radius (L/R)), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Oleg’s Bat Cave, which is in a Pleistocene/Holocene cave horizon in the Dominican Republic.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Chelonoidis dominicensis Albury 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.
†Chelonoidis dominicensis Albury et al. 2018
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| N. A. Albury et al. 2018 | The new Dominican species, Chelonoidis dominicensis, shares morphological features with the Bahamian tortoise, Chelonoidis alburyorum, and the Cuban tortoise, Chelonoidis cubensis. Chelonoidis dominicensis can be distinguished from C. alburyorum by its weak prognathous- shaped rostrum, stronger and sharper vomerine septum, more angular posterior skull margins, distinctive caudal hump as seen in shell profile, the centrum of first dorsal vertebra narrow without a strong ventral keel, massive sacral buttresses, weak presacral and sacral ribs, more tapered anterior plastral lobe with prominent gulars, elevated gular shelf. An interclavicular sculpture (bird face) occurs on the internal surface of the entoplastron, composed of a massive brow-line and an elongated, narrow keel (beak). Chelonoidis dominicensis is distinguished from C. cubensis (based on incomplete specimens), by its more narrow anterior plastral lobe and gulars, oval entoplastron, a strong wedge-shaped xiphiplastral notch, and a slight indentation at the junction of the cervical sulcus. The West Indian tortoises are allied with Galapagos tortoises, Chelonoidis nigra species complex, and possibly Chaco tortoises, Chelonoidis chilensis, based on morphology. These relationships are further supported by DNA evidence. |