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There are fourteen extant families of the order Testudines, an order of reptile. The testudines are some of the most ancient reptiles alive, with only the tuataras considered more primitive. There are approximately 300 extant species and 97 genera of testudines, split into two suborders: the Cryptodirans and the Pleurodirans. The distinction ...
Stylemys (meaning "pillar turtle") is the first fossil genus of dry land tortoise belonging to the order Testudines discovered in the United States. The genus lived in temperate to subtropical areas of North America, Europe, and Asia, based on fossil distribution. [1] The genus was first described in 1851 by Joseph Leidy. [2]
Testudinoidea is a superfamily within the suborder Cryptodira of the order Testudines. It includes the pond turtles (Family: Emydidae), Asian turtles (Family: Geoemydidae), the monotypic big-headed turtle (Family: Platysternidae), and the tortoises (Family: Testudinidae).
The order has also been historically known as Chelonii (Latreille 1800) and Chelonia (Ross and Macartney 1802), [2] which are based on the Ancient Greek word χελώνη (chelone) 'tortoise'. [6] [7] Testudines is the official order name due to the principle of priority. [2] The term chelonian is used as a formal name for members of the group ...
It was first coined as the group containing turtles by Jacob Theodor Klein in 1760. In 1832-1836, Thomas Bell wrote a book describing the Testudinata, which summarizes all the world's turtles, living and extinct, illustrated by forty plates by Jane S. Bell, James de Carle Sowerby and Edward Lear. [5]
Order: Testudines: Suborder: Pleurodira: Family: Chelidae ... It is a large family of turtles with a significant fossil history dating back to the Cretaceous.
In 1998, Hans-Volker Karl synonymized T. bohemicus, as well as all other European fossil species then classified under Trionyx, with the extant Trionyx triunguis. In 1999, V. M. Chkhikvadze concluded that all of these species were actually synonyms of Trionyx pontanus as it had nomenclatural priority , which he further revised as Rafetus pontanus .
Testudo spp. are promiscuous creatures and they follow a polyandrous mating system. [10] Mating involves a courtship ritual of mechanical, olfactory and auditory displays elicited from the male to coerce a female into accepting copulation. [11]