A new species of the genus Manouria (Testudines: Testudinidae) from the Upper Pleistocene of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Abstract

An extinct tortoise known from the uppermost Pleistocene of the Ryukyu Islands is described as the new species, Manouria oyamai (Testudines: Testudinidae) based on the skull, lower jaw and some postcranial elements. The specimens of M. oyamai were newly collected from the latest Pleistocene fissure deposits on Okinawa and Tokunoshima Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. This is the first fossil record of Manouria sensu stricto. Phylogenetic analysis shows that Manouria sensu stricto, comprising M. emys, M. impressa and M. oyamai, is monophyletic. Manouria oyamai flourished in the Central and South Ryukyus until the Late Pleistocene and became extinct there, along with other endemic terrestrial vertebrates, in the latest Pleistocene.