Die Zoogeographie der känozoischen Weichschildkröte Trionyx triunguis Forskal 1775 (Testudines: Trionychidae)
by Hans-Volker Karl
Abstract: The original European Trionychinae derives from upper Cretaceous turtles of the Tribus Trionychini of North America. The immigration of these hitherto unknown taxa took place at the end of the Cretaceous. The European Paleogene genus Rafetoides Karl 1997 was extinct by the end of Eocene. The morphospecies Trionyx triunguis Forskäl 1775 is reported from the Oligocene of the Paratethis ranges into the Miocene of Eurasia and Egypt. The greatest extention of Tertiary distribution of this species was in the Middle and earlear Upper Miocene of Eurasia. The expansion of Evergreen Woodlands of the Old World, the Messinian Crisis and the Glacial Series caused the restriction, and finally, the extinction of the Eurasian and North Mediterranean populations. The areas in Anatolia, Northeast Africa and Western Africa are refuge areas today. A survey is given of the stratigraphic distribution. Remarks on the hypothetic evolution of the „Living Fossil“ Trionyx triunguis are made.
Key words: Trionyx triunguis Forskäl 1775; Cenozoic Trionychinae; stratigraphical distribution; evolution; Central Europe; recent distribution in Africa.
Joannea Geol. Paläont. 1: 27-60 (1999)
