Testudininae

Radiated tortoises Asterochelys radiata photographed in Madagascar by czwg.

Belongs within: Testudinidae.
Contains: Geochelone.

The Testudininae contains the land tortoises most closely related to the type genus, Testudo, with many species having been referred in the past to either that genus or Geochelone. Among the most famous members of the group are the giant tortoises of the Galapagos (Chelonoidis) and Seychelles islands (Aldabrachelys). The genus Testudo includes species found in the Mediterranean region and western Asia, including Hermann's tortoise T. hermanni which is commonly kept in captivity around Europe. Kinixys, the hinged tortoises, is a genus of African tortoises that possess a hinge in the rear part of the shell allowing the rear legs to be covered after retraction.

See also: Tortoise resurrection.

Synapomorphies (from Gaffney & Meylan 1988): Process of surangular interdigitates with dentary, lower jaw relatively gracile; mental glands absent; medial centrale large, separating distal end of radius from contact with medial proximal carpals.

<==Testudininae
    |--+--+--Impregnochelys GM88
    |  |  `--Kinixys GM88
    |  |       |--K. belliana CP03
    |  |       |--K. erosa CP03
    |  |       `--K. homeana CP03
    |  `--+--Indotestudo GM88
    |     |    |--I. elongata CP03
    |     |    |--I. forsteni CP03
    |     |    `--I. travancorica CP03
    |     `--Testudinini GM88
    |          |--+--+--Chersina angulata Gray 1866 GM88, G66
    |          |  |  `--+--Acinixys GM88
    |          |  |     `--Pyxis arachnoides GM88, CP03
    |          |  `--+--Homopus areolatus GM88, CP03
    |          |     `--Psammobates GM88
    |          |          |--P. geometricus CP03
    |          |          |--P. oculifer CP03
    |          |          `--P. tentorius CP03
    |          `--Testudinina GM88
    |               |--Malacochersus tornieri GM88, CP03
    |               `--Testudo GM88
    |                    |--T. antakyensis Perälä 1996 TK03
    |                    |--T. denticulata Gray 1866 G66
    |                    |--T. graeca Linnaeus 1758 TK03
    |                    |    |--T. g. graeca TK03
    |                    |    |--T. g. anamurensis Weissinger 1987 TK03
    |                    |    |--T. g. armeniaca Chkhikvadze & Bakradze 1991 TK03
    |                    |    |--T. g. ibera Pallas 1814 TK03
    |                    |    `--T. g. terrestris Forsskål 1775 TK03
    |                    |--T. hermanni CP03
    |                    |    |--T. h. hermanni M55
    |                    |    `--T. h. robertmertensi M55
    |                    |--T. horsfieldii TK03
    |                    |--T. kleinmanni TK03
    |                    |--T. klettiana Cope 1875 C77
    |                    |--T. loveridgii LW08
    |                    |--T. marginata CP03
    |                    |--T. perses Perälä 2002 TK03
    |                    |--T. tabulata Gray 1866 G66
    |                    |--T. undata Cope 1875 C77
    |                    `--T. weissingeri CP03
    `--Megalochelyini [Megalochelyina] GM88
         |--+--Asterochely radiata GM88, CP03
         |  `--+--Megalochelys GM88
         |     `--Aldabrachelys Loveridge & Williams 1957 GM88, N10 [incl. Dipsochelys Bour 1982] N10
         |          |--‘Dipsochelys’ abrupta (Grandidier 1868) [=Geochelone abrupta] N10
         |          |--‘Dipsochelys’ arnoldi Bour 1982 N10
         |          |--‘Geochelone’ daudinii Dumeril & Bibron 1835 [=Dipsochelys daudinii] N10
         |          |--‘Geochelone’ dussumieri Gray 1831 [=Dipsochelys dussumieri] N10
         |          |--A. elephantina CP03
         |          |--A. grandidieri (Vaillant 1885) M94, N10 (see below for synonymy)
         |          |--‘Geochelone’ hololissa Gunther 1877 [=Dipsochelys hololissa] N10
         |          `--A. robusta M94
         `--+--Chelonoidis GM88
            |    |--C. carbonaria CP03
            |    |--C. chilensis CP03
            |    |--C. denticulata CP03
            |    `--C. nigra CP03
            `--Geochelone GM88

Aldabrachelys grandidieri (Vaillant 1885) M94, N10 [=Geochelone grandidieri N10, Dipsochelys grandidieri N10, Testudo grandidieri M94]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[CP03] Claude, J., E. Paradis, H. Tong & J.-C. Auffray. 2003. A geometric morphometric assessment of the effects of environment and cladogenesis on the evolution of the turtle shell. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 79: 485-501.

[C77] Cope, E. D. 1877. Report upon the extinct Vertebrata obtained in New Mexico by parties of the expedition of 1874. Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian 4(2): i-iv, 1-370.

[GM88] Gaffney, E. S., & P. A. Meylan. 1988. A phylogeny of turtles. In The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods, vol. 1. Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds (M. J. Benton, ed.) pp. 157-219. Clarendon Press: Oxford.

[G66] Gray, J. E. 1866. Notes on some young specimens of tortoises (Testudo). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 305-306.

[LW08] Li, C., X.-C. Wu, O. Rieppel, L.-T. Wang & L.-J. Zhao. 2008. An ancestral turtle from the Late Triassic of southwestern China. Nature 456: 497-501.

[M94] MacPhee, R. D. E. 1994. Morphology, adaptations, and relationships of Plesiorycteropus, and a diagnosis of a new order of eutherian mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 220: 1-214.

[M55] Mertens, R. 1955. Die Amphibien und Reptilien der Insel Elba. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36: 287-296.

[N10] Naish, D. 2010. Tetrapod Zoology: Book One. CFZ Press: Bideford (UK).

[TK03] Türkozan, O., Y. Kumlutaş, H. Arikan, Ç. Ilgaz & A. Avcı. 2003. Morphological and serological comparison of Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoises, Testudo graeca, from the Aegean region and southeastern Turkey. Zoology in the Middle East 29: 41-50.