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Diversity
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Phylogeography of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises
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Phylogeography of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2021) | Viewed by 7463

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Uwe Fritz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, Königsbrücker Landstraße 159, D-01109 Dresden, Germany
Interests: evolution; biogeography; herpetology; hybridisation; speciation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chelonians, freshwater and marine turtles and tortoises comprise an ancient group of reptiles. They are a morphologically unique group characterized by their shells, and more than 50 percent of the approximately 360 extant species are threatened with extinction. In recent years, an increasing number of studies on the phylogeography of turtles and tortoises have contributed significant insights not only into their evolution, but also into the genetic structure of individual species. Phylogeographic studies are often the prerequisite for taxonomy and conservation planning and are, therefore, at the crossroads of basic and applied sciences. The present Special Issue will collate manuscripts on the phylogeography of freshwater turtles and tortoises and explicitly encourages the submission of papers with taxonomic or conservation aspects and those that integrate population genetics approaches.

Prof. Dr. Uwe Fritz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • freshwater turtles
  • tortoises
  • phylogeography
  • conservation
  • taxonomy

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 5418 KiB  
Article
Four in One: Cryptic Diversity in Geoffroy’s Side-Necked Turtle Phrynops geoffroanus (Schweigger 1812) (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) in Brazil
by Vinicius Tadeu de Carvalho, Richard C. Vogt, Rommel R. Rojas, Mário da Silva Nunes, Rafael de Fraga, Robson W. Ávila, Anders G. J. Rhodin, Russell A. Mittermeier, Tomas Hrbek and Izeni Pires Farias
Diversity 2022, 14(5), 360; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14050360 - 3 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3438
Abstract
Turtles are one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates, with about 60% of species classified at some level of extinction risk. Compounding this extinction crisis are cryptic species and species complexes that are evaluated under a single species epithet but harbor multiple [...] Read more.
Turtles are one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates, with about 60% of species classified at some level of extinction risk. Compounding this extinction crisis are cryptic species and species complexes that are evaluated under a single species epithet but harbor multiple species, each of which needs to be evaluated independently. The Phrynops geoffroanus species group is a classic example. Described first in 1812, it is currently thought to harbor multiple species. To test this hypothesis, we collected mitochondrial and nuclear genomic data, morphometric data, and distribution and associated biome information. We applied statistically rigorous species delimitation analyses, taxonomic hypotheses tests, and fully coalescent phylogenetic reconstruction methods, concluding that the Phrynops geoffroanus species complex comprises four geographically structured species/lineages that diverged during the Pleistocene and are currently geographically structured along the main South American river basins and biomes. These species/lineages show subtle and largely non-significant differences in shape but are characterized by differences in coloration and patterns of marks on the head and plastron. Our results contribute to the understanding of species diversity and diversification of biodiversity in South America and provide an important basis for the conservation of freshwater turtles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phylogeography of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises)
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10 pages, 780 KiB  
Article
Stand out from the Crowd: Small-Scale Genetic Structuring in the Endemic Sicilian Pond Turtle
by Luca Vecchioni, Federico Marrone, Marco Arculeo, Uwe Fritz and Melita Vamberger
Diversity 2020, 12(9), 343; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12090343 - 7 Sep 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3278
Abstract
The geographical pattern of genetic diversity was investigated in the endemic Sicilian pond turtle Emys trinacris across its entire distribution range, using 16 microsatellite loci. Overall, 245 specimens of E. trinacris were studied, showing high polymorphic microsatellite loci, with allele numbers ranging from [...] Read more.
The geographical pattern of genetic diversity was investigated in the endemic Sicilian pond turtle Emys trinacris across its entire distribution range, using 16 microsatellite loci. Overall, 245 specimens of E. trinacris were studied, showing high polymorphic microsatellite loci, with allele numbers ranging from 7 to 30. STRUCTURE and GENELAND analyses showed a noteworthy, geographically based structuring of the studied populations in five well-characterized clusters, supported by a moderate degree of genetic diversity (FST values between 0.075 and 0.160). Possible explanations for the genetic fragmentation observed are provided, where both natural and human-mediated habitat fragmentation of the Sicilian wetlands played a major role in this process. Finally, some conservation and management suggestions aimed at preventing the loss of genetic variability of the species are briefly reported, stressing the importance of considering the five detected clusters as independent Management Units. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phylogeography of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises)
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