Late Miocene Turtles of Grytsiv (western Ukraine) with Rodent Gnaw Marks on the Carapace Surface

Abstract

The paper describes a series of turtle remains from the Early Late Miocene of Grytsiv (Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine). This fossil assemblage was quite diverse and included representatives of four families (Emydidae, Geoemydidae, Testudinidae, and Trionychidae), most of which are described only to the family level due to incompleteness. The discovery of shell fragments, identified here as Testudo chernovi, is the earliest record of this species on the territory of Ukraine. Scratches on the nuchal of T. chernovi are interpreted as traces of gnawing or rasping and are described as a new ichnospecies, Machichnus inrosus isp. n. These traces are identified as gnawing marks of the rodent Anomalomys grytsivensis, as evidenced by the width of the lower incisors and the presence of two characteristic longitudinal ridges on their labial surface.

Keywords

• reptiles
• testudines
• diversity
• ichnospecies
• taphonomy
• europe