''Testudo hellenica'' is an extinct genus of

tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

of the genus '' Testudo'' from the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

(

Vallesian The Vallesian age is a period of geologic time (11.6–9.0 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Turolian age and follows the Astaracian age. The so-called Vallesian Crisis resulted in th ...

) Nea Messimvria Formation (Zone MN 10) of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. ''T. hellenica'' is the earliest known crown-''Testudo'' from Greece (according to Garcia ''et al.'', 2020), since the next oldest ''Testudo'' species, '' T. marmorum'', from Greece come from the

Turolian The Turolian age is a period of geologic time (9.0–5.3 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Ruscinian age and follows the Vallesian age. The Turolian overlaps the Tortonian and Messinia ...

(7.3-7.2 ma) Pikermi beds.Böhme M, Spassov N, Ebner M, Geraads D, Hristova L, Kirscher U, et al (2017) Messinian age and savannah environment of the possible hominin ”''

Graecopithecus ''Graecopithecus'' is an extinct genus of hominid that lived in southeast Europe during the late Miocene around 7.2 million years ago. Originally identified by a single lower jawbone bearing teeth found in Pyrgos Vasilissis, Athens, Greece, in ...

''” from Europe. Plos one: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177347. ''T. hellenica'' is important for understanding the radiation of the evolutionary history of the lineage of the ''Testudo'' genus, pushing it back from 7 Ma (2017) and 8 Ma (2018) to 9.1-9 Ma (2020).

Discovery and naming

The holotype, a carapace with a preserved plastron, was discovered in the Ravin de la Pluie, Axios Valley from fossil sediments ranging from 9.149-9.046 Ma, although the formation may be as old as 11.608 Ma and as recent as 8.7 Ma.Bour R (1983) Les tortues terrestres du Palarctique. In Beaufort F. de (ed.), Espèces menacées et exploitées dans le monde. Guide pratique pour leur connaissance et leur identification. Secrétariat de la Faune et de la Flore, Paris, pp. 1–11. In order to observe the detail of the carapace, the specimen was completely prepared. The phylogeny of ''T. hellenica'' was studied in 2016, although it was unnamed at the time. The species ''Testudo hellenica'' was named in 2020. The holotype, LGPUT RPI-216, preserves a carapace, plastron and several bones underneath, including a fused

humerus The humerus (; : humeri) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius (bone), radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extrem ...

and

scapula The scapula (: scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on either side ...

Description

The carapace is approximately long, meaning that when fully grown, it would have been around long. The rounded anterior lobe is long, while the posterior lobe is long. The bridge between the two lobes is long. Since the domed pygal plate curves inwards, this indicates that the holotype individual was a male. ''Testudo hellenica'' shares with '' Eurotestudo'', '' T. marginata'' and '' T. marmorum'' an elongated shell, although the plastron of the holotype of ''T. marmorum'' is different to that of ''T. hellenica''.Lapparent de Broin F de, Bour R, Perälä JF (2006a) Morphological definition of '' Eurotestudo'' (Testudinidae, Chelonii): First part. Annales de Paléontologie 92 (3): 255–304.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q96943132 Testudo (genus) Fossil taxa described in 2020