''Centrochelys atlantica'' is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
species of
tortoise that lived in the
Pleistocene. It was first recorded in the volcanic crater on
Sal
Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to:
Personal name
* Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
Places
* Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality
* Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province
* Ca ...
,
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
.
[Chevalier, A., Joleaud , L., and Petit, G. 1935. Les dépôts quaternaires de l’ancien cratère de Pedra de Lume (île de Sal, archipel du Cap-Vert). ''Comptes Rendus des Séances de l’Académie des Sciences, Paris'' 200:1334–1335.] It was initially identified as similar to the extant ''Testudo calcarata'' (= ''
Centrochelys sulcata''). The species is no longer present anywhere in the Cape Verde islands. It has since been described as a new species, differentiated from ''C. sulcata'' by its smaller size and lesser robusticity.
It does not seem there is any evidence this species came into contact with humans.
Kehlmaier ''et al.'' (2021) identified the type material of this species as belonging to a specimen of the
red-footed tortoise, making ''C. atlantica'' a
junior synonym
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...
of the latter species and leaving the extinct tortoise known from fossils excavated on the Sal Island in the 1930s without a scientific name.
References
{{Testudinidae
Testudinidae
Pleistocene turtles
Neogene reptiles of Africa
Fossil taxa described in 1998