Checklist of fossil land tortoises (Testudinidae)

Abstract

This checklist is based on the main literature pertaining to fossil tortoises and an examination of many important specimens in museums in North and South America, Europe, and India.² Zoogeography and evolutionary trends are outlined and briefly discussed. Of 318 species originally described as fossil land tortoises, 22 are removed from the family and placed elsewhere, 9 are considered nomina nuda, 13 are based on material unidentifiable at the species level. Two primary homonyms are suppressed: Gopherus depressus and Hadrianus robustus, here renamed Gopherus brattstromi and Geochelone gilmorei respectively. Many species formerly placed in Testudo (sensu latu) are reallocated to other genera.