Disentangling the Pelomedusa complex using type specimens and historical DNA (Testudines: Pelomedusidae)

Fritz, Uwe; Petzold, Alice; Kehlmaier, Christian; Kindler, Carolin; Campbell, Patrick D.; Hofmeyr, Margaretha D.; Branch, William R.

doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3795.5.1

Cited by 466 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…the figures in Fritz et al 2014 and this study). Pelomedusa gehafie corresponds to mtDNA lineage X of Fritz et al (2014).…”

Section: Pelomedusa Barbata Sp Novsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…the figures in Fritz et al 2014 and this study). Pelomedusa gehafie corresponds to mtDNA lineage X of Fritz et al (2014). It belongs to the northern species group of Pelomedusa, which is well supported in phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA.…”

Section: Pelomedusa Barbata Sp Novsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…1) closely resemble the tree presented in Fritz et al (2014), which was calculated using the merged data sets of Vargas-Ramírez et al (2010), Wong et al (2010), and Fritz et al (2011), plus new sequences, mainly from historical type specimens. Based on this data set of 76 helmeted terrapins, Fritz et al (2014) found 10 deeply divergent clades. Our present analyses expanded this data set with sequences from 107 additional terrapins and revealed two further clades.…”

Section: Mitochondrial Phylogeny and Geographical Distribution Of Gensupporting

confidence: 61%

“…The remaining small clade is represented only by two samples from the Northern and Western Cape provinces and by the lectotype of Pentonyx capensis Duméril & Bibron, 1835, lacking an exact geographical provenance. The sequences from the Northern and Western Cape correspond to topotypic material of Testudo galeata Schoepff, 1792 and to the holotype of Pelomedusa galeata devilliersi Hewitt, 1935(Fritz et al 2014. The widely distributed second clade contains, besides fresh material, also sequences of the types of Pelomedusa nigra Gray, 1863 (Fritz et al 2014) and of a terrapin from the Western Cape (MTD T 10511, Groenfontein near Calitzdorp; Table S1).…”

Section: Pelomedusa Barbata Sp Novmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The sequences from the Northern and Western Cape correspond to topotypic material of Testudo galeata Schoepff, 1792 and to the holotype of Pelomedusa galeata devilliersi Hewitt, 1935(Fritz et al 2014. The widely distributed second clade contains, besides fresh material, also sequences of the types of Pelomedusa nigra Gray, 1863 (Fritz et al 2014) and of a terrapin from the Western Cape (MTD T 10511, Groenfontein near Calitzdorp; Table S1). MTD T 10511 can also be considered topotypic for Testudo galeata Schoepff, 1792.…”

Section: Pelomedusa Barbata Sp Novmentioning

confidence: 93%

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A revision of African helmeted terrapins (Testudines: Pelomedusidae: Pelomedusa), with descriptions of six new species

Petzold

Vargas‐Ramírez

Kehlmaier

et al. 2014

Zootaxa

Self Cite

942

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Using nearly range-wide sampling, we analyze up to 1848 bp of mitochondrial DNA of 183 helmeted terrapins and identify a minimum of 12 deeply divergent species-level clades. Uncorrected p distances of these clades equal or clearly exceed those between the currently recognized species of Pelusios, the genus most closely related to Pelomedusa. We correlate genetic discontinuities of Pelomedusa with data on morphology and endoparasites and describe six new Pelomedusa species. Moreover, we restrict the name Pelomedusa subrufa (Bonnaterre, 1789) to one genetic lineage and resurrect three further species from its synonymy, namely P. galeata (Schoepff, 1792), P. gehafie (Rüppell, 1835), and P. olivacea (Schweigger, 1812). In addition to these ten Pelomedusa species, we identify two further clades from Cameroon and Sudan with similar levels of genetic divergence that remain unnamed candidate species. We also note that some problematical terrapins from South Africa and Somalia may represent two additional candidate species. Some of the Pelomedusa species are morphologically distinctive, whilst others can only be identified by molecular markers and are therefore morphologically cryptic taxa.

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“…the figures in Fritz et al 2014 and this study). Pelomedusa gehafie corresponds to mtDNA lineage X of Fritz et al (2014).…”

Section: Pelomedusa Barbata Sp Novsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Pelomedusa Barbata Sp Novsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Mitochondrial Phylogeny and Geographical Distribution Of Gensupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Pelomedusa Barbata Sp Novmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Pelomedusa Barbata Sp Novmentioning

confidence: 93%

See 3 more Smart Citations

A revision of African helmeted terrapins (Testudines: Pelomedusidae: Pelomedusa), with descriptions of six new species

Petzold

Vargas‐Ramírez

Kehlmaier

et al. 2014

Zootaxa

Self Cite

942

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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A Return to Linnaeus’s Focus on Diagnosis, Not Description: The Use of DNA Characters in the Formal Naming of Species

Renner¹

2016

Syst Biol

111

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Descriptions and diagnoses are alternative choices in all Codes of Nomenclature because Linnaeus relied on diagnoses, not descriptions, to name ca. 13,400 animals, plants, and fungi. A diagnosis names characters in which a new taxon differs from the most similar known taxon; a description mixes taxonomically informative and uninformative features, usually without indicating which is which. The first formal diagnoses of new taxa that included DNA-based characters came out in 2001, and by November 2015, at least 98 names of species of acoels, lichens, angiosperms, annelids, alveolates, arachnids, centipedes, turtles, fishes, butterflies, mollusks, nematodes, and pathogenic fungi have been published based on diagnostic mitochondrial, plastid, or nuclear DNA substitutions, indels, or rarely genetic distances, with or without additional morphological features. Authors have found diverse ways to specify the diagnostic traits (all published studies are here tabulated). While descriptions try to "cover" within-species variation, a goal rarely accomplished because of (i) the stochastic nature of specimen availability (thousands of species are known from single collections) and (ii) the subjective circumscription of species, the purpose of diagnoses was and is speedy identification. Linnaeus tried to achieve this by citing images, geographic occurrence, and previous literature. The renewed attention to sharp diagnosis now coincides with worldwide barcoding efforts, may speed up formal naming, and matches the increasing reliance on DNA for both classification and identification. I argue for DNA-based diagnoses of new species becoming a recommendation in all Codes, not just the bacterial code. [Codes of Nomenclature; description; diagnosis; DNA-based diagnosis; naming new species; nomenclature.

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A hotspot of xenodiversity: First evidence of an assemblage of non‐native freshwater turtles in a suburban wetland in Central Italy

Ferri

Battisti²,

Soccini³

et al. 2020

Lakes & Reservoirs

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The present study reports on a case of high richness in an assemblage of non‐native freshwater turtles in a suburban wetland of Tyrrhenian Central Italy (Torre Flavia Nature Reserve), providing evidence for first observations of species at regional, national and continental levels. Following a standardized sampling procedure, 54 specimens belonging to seven taxa (ten taxa, including subspecies) were sampled. These included Trachemys scripta (overwintering in the nest of a juvenile, corroborating its reproduction in the wild), Graptemys pseudogeographica, Pelomedusa olivacea (first observation recorded for Europe), Pseudemys concinna, Pseudemys nelsoni, Mauremys sinensis and an unclassified Kinosternidae (Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum vel Sternotherus odoratus; first observation recorded for Europe at the family level). Due to the high frequency of the most common species (Trachemys scripta: >80% in frequency), this non‐native assemblage was characterized by high Simpson dominance, low Simpson diversity and low evenness values. This appears to be the first evidence of a local hotspot of these non‐native reptiles in Europe. These relevant data and their ecological implications (e.g., alien food webs) are discussed, as well as their conservation concerns and wetland management perspectives.

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Disentangling the Pelomedusa complex using type specimens and historical DNA (Testudines: Pelomedusidae)

Abstract: Recent research has shown that the helmeted terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa), a species that occurs throughout sub-Saharan

Cited by 466 publications

References 32 publications

<strong>A revision of African helmeted terrapins (Testudines: Pelomedusidae: <em>Pelomedusa</em>), with descriptions of six new species</strong>

<strong>A revision of African helmeted terrapins (Testudines: Pelomedusidae: <em>Pelomedusa</em>), with descriptions of six new species</strong>

A Return to Linnaeus’s Focus on Diagnosis, Not Description: The Use of DNA Characters in the Formal Naming of Species

A hotspot of xenodiversity: First evidence of an assemblage of non‐native freshwater turtles in a suburban wetland in Central Italy

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