Pelusios seychellensis never existed

[Surroundx]

Abstract

Pelusios seychellensis is thought to be a freshwater turtle species endemic to the island of Mahé, Seychelles. There are only three museum specimens from the late 19th century known. The species has been never found again, despite intensive searches on Mahé. Therefore, P. seychellensis has been declared as “Extinct” by the IUCN and is the sole putatively extinct freshwater turtle species. Using DNA sequences of three mitochondrial genes of the historical type specimen and phylogenetic analyses including all other species of the genus, we provide evidence that the description of P. seychellensis was erroneously based on a widely distributed West African species, P. castaneus. Consequently, we synonymize the two species and delete P. seychellensis from the list of extinct chelonian species and from the faunal list of the Seychelles.

Stuckas, H., Gemel, R. and Fritz, U. (2013). One Extinct Turtle Species Less: Pelusios seychellensis Is Not Extinct, It Never Existed. PLoS ONE 8(4): e57116. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057116

 

[zooboy28]

It is really quite amazing that, as yet, no freshwater turtles have become extinct, nor any sea turtles. The paper states that 7 chelonians have become extinct, all island taxa, mostly giant tortoises extirpated by sailors and introduced mammals from 1735-1840. But there was also one other species, that I have never heard of, that was the last of its family:

The most spectacular case is Meiolania damelipi, the last representative of the famous giant ‘horned turtles’ (Meiolaniidae) that disappeared from Efate island (Vanuatu, Southwest Pacific) approximately 3000 years before present, within 300 years after the arrival of humans

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Some more info on that those turtles can be found on wikipedia: [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiolania]Meiolania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]



So thanks for posting, I definitely learned something, and the whole paper is an interesting story.

 

[Surroundx]

It is really quite amazing that, as yet, no freshwater turtles have become extinct, nor any sea turtles.

Unfortunately there is one freshwater turtle taxon, albeit a subspecies, which is possibly extinct: Kinosternon hirtipes megacephalum* (IUCN RedList evaluation here). It was last seen in 1966, and as there are no permanent water sources near the type locality now its survival is bleak. However, there is of course the possibility of a geographically disjunct population being discovered.

I also have another taxon in my database, Emys orbicularis ssp. nov 'Algiers'**, which comes from North Africa. The last record was, so far as I can find, in the early 20th century. However, information on this undescribed subspecies is scant and I hesitate to mention it given the paucity of information about it.

The paper states that 7 chelonians have become extinct, all island taxa, mostly giant tortoises extirpated by sailors and introduced mammals from 1735-1840.

Exactly how many species of giant tortoise became extinct on the Indian Ocean islands of the Galapagos, Reunion, etc. is hotly debated and the taxonomy of the group as a whole is nightmarish. It is likely, however, that there were more than a dozen. In addition, several species from the Late Pleistocene, also existed and were likely driven extinct by humans. There were two tortoises from Great Abaco Island, Bahamas, Chelonoidis alburyorum and Chelonoidis sp. nov. #1. There were also two species of Hesperotestudo from continental America, H. crassicutata and H. wilsoni, and another species of the same genus from Bermuda, H. bermudae.

But there was also one other species, that I have never heard of, that was the last of its family:

.
Some more info on that those turtles can be found on wikipedia: Meiolania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There were at least four species of Meiolania which survived into the Late Pleistocene, and possibly the Holocene:

M. damelipi***
M. mackayi****
M. platyceps*****
M. sp. nov.

So as you can see, although the putative extinction of several species of chelonians is well known, an in depth knowledge of the literature unfortunately reveals many more.

Notes:

* Iverson, John B. (1981). Biosystematics of the Kinosternon hirtipes species group (Testudines: Kinosternidae). Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany 23(1): 1-74. [Warning: 5.4MB file]

** Fritz, U. (1994). Gibt es in Nordafrika zwei verschiedene Formen der Europäischen Sumpfschildkröte (Emys orbicularis)? Salamandra 30: 76-80.

*** White, A. W., T. H. Worthy, S, Hawkins, S. Bedford, and M. Spriggs. (2010). Megafaunal meiolaniid horned turtles survived until early human settlement in Vanuatu, Southwest Pacific. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(35): 15512-15516. [Abstract]

**** Anderson, C. (1925). Notes on the extinct chelonian Meiolania, with a record of a new occurrence. Records of the Australian Museum 14(4): 223-242.

***** ?Owen, Richard. (1886). Description of fossil remains of two species of a megalanian genus (Meiolania) from ‘Lord Howe’s Island’. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 177: 471–480.?