''Titanochelon'' is an extinct genus of giant

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

known from the Early

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 ...

to the beginning of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

in Europe, extending from the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, as well as possibly North Africa. Some members of the genus were larger than extant giant tortoises, with a shell length of up to .

Taxonomy

There are approximately 10 known species in the genus, most of which were originally assigned to '' Testudo'' (a genus which formally encompassed almost all fossil tortoises) or '' Cheirogaster,'' the type species of which, ''Cheirogaster maurini'' is known from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

of France and is quite different to the species assigned to ''Titanochelon''. After a major systematic revision in 2014, the genus ''Titanochelon'' was created to house these related species.Hans Volker Karl, Ulrich Staesche, Amtyaz Safi New findings of neogene tortoises ''Titanochelon kayadibiensis'' sp. nov. and ''Protestudo bessarabica'' (Riabinin, 1918) (Testudinidae) from the Miocene of western Turkey, with a review of fossil turtles of Turkey SPC Journal of Environmental Sciences, 3 (1) (2021) 1-9 * ''Titanochelon bolivari'' (Hernandez-Pacheco, 1917) (type)

, Miocene * ''Titanochelon bacharidisi'' (Vlachos et al., 2014) Greece, Bulgaria, Late Miocene * ''Titanochelon perpiniana'' (Deperet 1885) France, Pliocene *''Titanochelon schafferi'' (Szalai, 1931) Samos, Greece, Miocene *''Titanochelon vitodurana'' (Biedermann 1862) Switzerland, Early Miocene *''Titanochelon kayadibiensis'' Karl, Staesche & Safi, 2021, Anatolia, Miocene *''Titanochelon eurysternum'' (Gervais, 1848–1852) France, Miocene *''Titanochelon ginsburgi'' (de Broin, 1977 ) France, Miocene *''Titanochelon leberonensis'' (Depéret, 1890) France, Miocene *''Titanochelon schleichi'' Pappa, Vlachos & Moser, 2023'','' Germany, Miocene (Burdigalian/Langhian boundary) The giant tortoise species ''"Testudo" gymnesica'' Bate, 1914 from the Lower Pliocene-Lower Pleistocene of the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

was formerly suggested to be possibly attributable to this genus, but the taxon displays notable differences from the species assigned to ''Titanochelon''. Remains from the

of Malta were also considered possibly attributable to this genus. In 2022, "''Testudo''" ''gymnesica'' and the Maltese species were assigned to the new genus '' Solitudo.'' In 2025, "''Testudo''" ''punica'' Arambourg, 1979 from the Early Pliocene of Ichkeul, Tunisia was suggested to be closely related and possibly belonging to ''Titanochelon'', and was tentatively assigned to the genus as "''Titanochelon''" ''punicum''.

Evolutionary history

Phylogenetic analyses In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as Computational phylogenetics, phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organ ...

have recovered ''Titanochelon'' as most closely related to '' Stigmochelys'' (the leopard tortoise), which is native to Africa, suggesting the genus has an African origin. Fossils have been recovered from across Europe beginning in the Early Miocene from Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic,Březina J., Luján A.H., Calábková G. and Ivanov M. (2019): Revize historického nálezu obří želvy z Brněnskych Písků (Stredni Miocén, Spodní Baden). Acta. Mus. Moraviae, Sci. geol. CIII 1:113-128; Brno; evision on historical finding of the giant Turtle from the Brno Sand (Middle Miocene, Lower Badenium). Greece, Bulgaria, and Anatolia. The youngest known definitive remains of the genus are known from the Early Pleistocene Fonelas P-1 site of Granada in southern Spain, dating to around 2.0 million years ago. Their extinction was likely related to climatic cooling due to the onset of glaciation at the beginning of the Pleistocene.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q28871162, from2=Q50368425, from3=Q51153051, from4=Q51310094, from5=Q51310095, from6=Q50368426 Testudinidae Taxa described in 2014 Prehistoric turtle genera