Morphology and evolution of turtles : proceedings of the Gaffney Turtle Symposium (2009) in honor of Eugene S. Gaffney

"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"- - Springer Front Matter....Pages i-xix Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Eugene S. Gaffney: A Professional Biography and Bibliography....Pages 3-8 Autobiography (Through May 2009)....Pages 9-15 Front Matter....Pages 17-17 Problems of the Ancestry of Turtles....Pages 19-36 Origin of the Turtle Body Plan: The Folding Theory to Illustrate Turtle-Specific Developmental Repatterning....Pages 37-50 The Evolution of the Turtle Shell....Pages 51-61 Three Ways to Tackle the Turtle: Integrating Fossils, Comparative Embryology, and Microanatomy....Pages 63-70 Geometric and Developmental Perspectives on the Evolution of the Skull and Internal Carotid Circulation in Turtles....Pages 71-101 Front Matter....Pages 103-103 New Material of the Platychelyid Turtle Notoemys zapatocaensis from the Early Cretaceous of Colombia; Implications for Understanding Pleurodira Evolution....Pages 105-120 Spoochelys ormondea gen. et sp. nov., an Archaic Meiolaniid-Like Turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, Australia....Pages 121-146 Turtles from the Jurassic Shishugou Formation of the Junggar Basin, People’s Republic of China, with Comments on the Basicranial Region of Basal Eucryptodires....Pages 147-172 Rediscovery of the Carapace of the Lost Holotype of the Purbeck Turtle Chelone obovata Owen 1842....Pages 173-178 Kappachelys okurai gen. et sp. nov., a New Stem Soft-Shelled Turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Japan....Pages 179-185 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....Pages 187-212 Front Matter....Pages 213-213 A New Long-Necked Turtle, Laganemys tenerensis (Pleurodira: Araripemydidae), from the Elrhaz Formation (Aptian–Albian) of Niger....Pages 215-250 Two Synchronic and Sympatric Bothremydidae Taxa (Chelonii, Pleurodira) in the Late Cretaceous Site of “Lo Hueco” (Cuenca, Spain)....Pages 251-259 New Information about Pelomedusoides (Testudines: Pleurodira) from the Cretaceous of Brazil....Pages 261-275 Nostimochelone lampra gen. et sp. nov., an Enigmatic New Podocnemidoidean Turtle from the Early Miocene of Northern Greece....Pages 277-287 A New Species of Bairdemys (Pelomedusoides: Podocnemididae) from the Oligocene (Early Chattian) Chandler Bridge Formation of South Carolina, USA, and Its Paleobiogeographic Implications for the Genus....Pages 289-303 Front Matter....Pages 305-305 Preliminary Overview of Late Cretaceous Turtle Diversity in Eastern Central Europe (Austria, Hungary, and Romania)....Pages 307-336 Re-Assessment of Late Campanian (Kirtlandian) Turtles from the Upper Cretaceous Fruitland and Kirtland Formations, San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA....Pages 337-387 Front Matter....Pages 305-305 A New Species of Neurankylus from the Milk River Formation (Cretaceous: Santonian) of Alberta, Canada, and a Revision of the Type Species N . eximius ....Pages 389-405 Redescription of Zangerlia dzamynchondi (Testudines: Nanhsiungchelyidae) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia, with a Reassessment of the Phylogenetic Position and Relationships of Zangerlia ....Pages 407-417 Cretaceous Trionychids of Asia: An Expanded Review of Their Record and Biogeography....Pages 419-438 Fossil European Sea Turtles: A Historical Perspective....Pages 439-458 Fossil Kinosternidae from the Oligocene and Miocene of Florida, USA....Pages 459-475 New Turtles from the Paleogene of North America....Pages 477-497 Front Matter....Pages 499-499 Osseous and Other Hard Tissue Pathologies in Turtles and Abnormalities of Mineral Deposition....Pages 501-534 Morphological Variation in the Carapace and Plastron of Terrapene coahuila Schmidt and Owens 1944....Pages 535-566 Back Matter....Pages 567-577