We here describe turtle remains from the late Miocene (Tortonian) of Cessaniti (Calabria,
southern Italy), an area that recently has been palaeogeographically reconstructed
as being, at that time of the Neogene, directly connected (or at least rather proximate)
to northern Africa, instead of Europe. The material pertains to three different turtle
clades, i.e., pan-trionychids, pan-cheloniids, and pan-geoemydids. Although the material
is incomplete, it nevertheless permits a more precise identification for the pan-trionychid
specimens, which are referred to the species Trionyx pliocenicus, as well as the pan-geoemydid,
which is attributed to the genus Mauremys. Especially for the case of T. pliocenicus,
the new Cessaniti specimens expand its geographic and stratigraphic distribution and
further comprise the sole existing material known for this species, considering that
its holotype and so far only known material is currently lost. Overall, besides its
taxonomic significance, the Cessaniti chelonian assemblage affords the potential for
important biogeographic implications, attesting that the lineages of Trionyx and Mauremys
could have potentially used the Sicily-Calabria arch for their dispersal from Europe
to Africa during the Tortonian. The new turtle specimens further complement the associated
mammal remains in envisaging the Cessaniti assemblage as a mosaic of both African
and Eurasian (Pikermian) faunal elements.
