Morphology and Evolution of Turtles

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

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2. Perspectives on the Life and Accomplishments of Eugene S. Gaffney

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Eugene S. Gaffney: A Professional Biography and Bibliography

      • Robert L. Carroll

      Pages 3-8

   3. Autobiography (Through May 2009)

      • Eugene S. Gaffney

      Pages 9-15

3. The Origin of Turtles

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17

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   2. Problems of the Ancestry of Turtles

      • Robert L. Carroll

      Pages 19-36

   3. Origin of the Turtle Body Plan: The Folding Theory to Illustrate Turtle-Specific Developmental Repatterning

      • Hiroshi Nagashima, Shigehiro Kuraku, Katsuhisa Uchida, Yoshie Kawashima-Ohya, Yuichi Narita, Shigeru Kuratani

      Pages 37-50

   4. The Evolution of the Turtle Shell

      • Olivier Rieppel

      Pages 51-61

   5. Three Ways to Tackle the Turtle: Integrating Fossils, Comparative Embryology, and Microanatomy

      • Torsten M. Scheyer, Ingmar Werneburg, Christian Mitgutsch, Massimo Delfino, Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra

      Pages 63-70

   6. Geometric and Developmental Perspectives on the Evolution of the Skull and Internal Carotid Circulation in Turtles

      • Tetsuto Miyashita

      Pages 71-101

4. The Early Diversification of Turtles

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 103-103

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   2. New Material of the Platychelyid Turtle Notoemys zapatocaensis from the Early Cretaceous of Colombia; Implications for Understanding Pleurodira Evolution

      • Edwin A. Cadena, Carlos A. Jaramillo, Jonathan I. Bloch

      Pages 105-120

   3. Spoochelys ormondea gen. et sp. nov., an Archaic Meiolaniid-Like Turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, Australia

      • Elizabeth T. Smith, Benjamin P. Kear

      Pages 121-146

   4. Turtles from the Jurassic Shishugou Formation of the Junggar Basin, People’s Republic of China, with Comments on the Basicranial Region of Basal Eucryptodires

      • Donald B. Brinkman, David A. Eberth, Xing Xu, James M. Clark, Xiao-Chun Wu

      Pages 147-172

   5. Rediscovery of the Carapace of the Lost Holotype of the Purbeck Turtle Chelone obovata Owen 1842

      • Andrew R. Milner

      Pages 173-178

   6. Kappachelys okurai gen. et sp. nov., a New Stem Soft-Shelled Turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Japan

      • Ren Hirayama, Shinji Isaji, Tsuyoshi Hibino

      Pages 179-185

   7. Morphology and Relationships of Brachyopsemys tingitana gen. et sp. nov. from the Early Paleocene of Morocco and Recognition of the New Eucryptodiran Turtle Family: Sandownidae

      • Haiyan Tong, Peter Meylan

      Pages 187-212

5. Pleurodire Diversity and Biogeography

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 213-213

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   2. A New Long-Necked Turtle, Laganemys tenerensis (Pleurodira: Araripemydidae), from the Elrhaz Formation (Aptian–Albian) of Niger

      • Paul C. Sereno, Sara J. ElShafie

      Pages 215-250

   3. Two Synchronic and Sympatric Bothremydidae Taxa (Chelonii, Pleurodira) in the Late Cretaceous Site of “Lo Hueco” (Cuenca, Spain)

      • Adán Pérez-García, Francisco Ortega, Xabier Murelaga

      Pages 251-259

This volume celebrates the contributions of Dr. Eugene Gaffney to the study of turtles, through a diverse and complementary collection of papers that showcases the latest research on one of the most intriguing groups of reptiles. A mix of focused and review papers deals with numerous aspects of the evolutionary history of turtles, including embryonic development, origins, early diversification, phylogenetic relationships, and biogeography. Moreover it includes reports on important but poorly understood fossil turtle assemblages, provides historical perspectives on turtle research, and documents disease and variation in turtles. With its broad scope, which includes descriptions of material and new taxa from Australia, Asia, and Europe, as well as North and South America, this work will be an essential resource for anyone interested in the morphology and evolution of turtles.   “This volume’s breadth of time, geography, and taxonomic coverage makes it a major contribution to the field and a ‘must have’ for all vertebrate paleontologists.”, James F. Parham, California State University, CA, USA   “A comprehensive and sweeping overview of turtle evolution by the top experts in the field that will interest everyone curious about these unique reptiles.” Jason S. Anderson, University of Calgary, Canada   “An invaluable addition to the literature that covers the full spectrum of approaches toward understanding the evolution of these noble creatures.” Ann C. Burke, Wesleyan University, CT , USA  “A truly comprehensive volume that both the student of fossil turtles, as well as the general reader interested in these enigmatic creatures, will find fascinating.” Tyler Lyson, Yale University, CT, USA​

• Cryptodiran turtles
• Pleurodire biogeography
• Turtle embryology
• Turtle evolution
• Turtle osteology
• Turtle pathologies
• Model vertebrates

From the reviews:

“This book describes the latest research on fossil turtles and thus is a substantial addition to the field of vertebrate paleontology. … this work will be an essential resource for all global researchers interested in the morphology and evolution of reptiles, including the most intriguing of them, the turtles. … will be very useful to students, researchers, and scientists in the field of paleontology and biology.” (Rituparna Bose, Priscum, Vol. 21 (1), 2014)

“This massive volume will be a landmark in the study of turtles. … This is a rich resource with many photographs and illustrations and information on the contributions of many earlier students of turtles. It is essentially a book for specialists in turtle anatomy and evolution, but some of the more broadly focused chapters will be of use to many professionals in paleontology and biology, and advanced students in those areas. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” (D. Bardack, Choice, Vol. 50 (6), February, 2013).

• Royal Tyrell Museum, Drumheller, Canada

  Donald B. Brinkman

• Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, USA

  Patricia A. Holroyd

• Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Canada

  James D. Gardner

Don Brinkman is director of Research at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. He undertakes research on the taxonomy, biostratigraphy, and distributions of Mesozoic turtles. Turtles are a focus of his research because they offer unique insights into the patterns of distribution of Mesozoic vertebrates in general and the degree to which faunal interchange between separate areas were possible. He am particularly interested in using information from turtles to elucidate questions of interchange between Asia and North America and latitudinal zonation of North America during the Cretaceous.

Jim Gardner is the Curator of Palaeoherpetology at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Canada. His research program focuses on the evolutionary history of Mesozoic and Cenozoic lissamphibians, especially those from the North American Western Interior. Jim maintains a sideline interest in turtles, thanks to his MSc study of soft-shelled turtles from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta.

Pat Holroyd is Museum Scientist in the Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, California. She undertakes research on mammals and reptiles (principally turtles) from the Late Cretaceous and early Paleogene (approximately 70-30 million years ago). For the past ten years, she has maintained an active field program in the Greater Green River Basin of southwestern Wyoming, where the rocks preserve fossil mammals and reptiles from approximately 53 to 50 million years in age. Her research program is centered around understanding the pattern and process of change in the continental biota during warm intervals in the past. This could help us evaluate how long-term climate change may alter the Earth's biota in the future.

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