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| Manouria morla Chroust, Szczygielski & Luján, 2025 Digital painting by Rudolf Hima |
Abstract
Tortoises (Testudinidae) are a clade of turtles highly specialized to terrestrial environments, mainly living in semi-arid conditions. Herein, we present Manouria morla sp. nov., a new species of the genus Manouria, which is considered to be the most basal extant testudinid genus. The studied material comes from the Ahníkov I fossil site, formerly known as Merkur or Merkur-North, located in the Most Basin in NW Bohemia (Czechia), dated to the Early Miocene (Burdigalian, MN 3). Manouria morla sp. nov. is the oldest member of the Manouria lineage, which nowadays inhabits SE Asia only, and therefore its biogeography and plausible European origin are discussed. The specific type of multiplication of plastral scutes in the inguinal region is discussed as a new morphological character diagnostic for the genus. Based on zoological studies, specific environmental requirements of the genus Manouria allow us to use this taxon as a proxy for the paleoclimate reconstruction of the Ahníkov I fossil site which suggests a broadleaf evergreen tropical wet forest. The simplified use of fossil testudinids as a proxy for reconstructing semi-arid palaeoclimate is therefore disproven.
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| Manouria morla sp. nov. (Ahníkov I, Early Miocene), anterior part of the plastron in A internal view (photograph), B external view (photograph), C internal view, D external view, E left lateral view, F anterior (epiplastral) view, G right lateral view. Posterior part of the plastron in H internal view (photograph), I external view (photograph), J internal view, K external view |
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| Hypothetical reconstruction of the shell of Manouria morla sp. nov. (Ahníkov I, Early Miocene). A dorsal view of the carapace, B ventral view of the plastron, C dorsal view of the plastron. Preserved parts indicated in grey color |
Systematic palaeontology
Testudinata Klein, 1760
Cryptodira Cope, 1868
Testudinoidea Fitzinger, 1826
Pan-Testudinidae Joyce et al., 2004
Testudinidae Gray, 1825
Genus Manouria Gray, 1854
Manouria morla sp. nov.
Diagnosis: The genus Manouria can be diagnosed by the following autapomorphies: prominent visceral rims associated with the body wall attachment, developed close to the sutures between the peripherals and costals (also on the nuchal and the pygal); thin carapacial elements (costals/neurals); axillary buttresses long and thin and just barely in contact with costal bones; the visceral surface of costal 5 shows the attachment for the inguinal buttress; the sinusoidal shape of the posterior carapacial edge; the presence of the pygal notch; the presence of 12 marginal pairs; coincidence between the costo-peripheral suture and the pleuro-marginal sulcus; significant serration of the posterior peripherals; posterior sulcus of the fifth vertebral coinciding with the suprapygal-pygal suture; overlap of the plastral scutes into the dorsal surface of the anterior and posterior plastral lobes; lateral portion of the humero-pectoral sulcus perpendicular to the axial plane and anteriorly deflected; pectorals medially short; contact between the inguinal and femoral scutes is present; the presence of the multiplication of inguinal scutes.
Etymology. The species is named after Morla, a fantasy character from the book The Neverending Story (orig. Die unendliche Geschichte) written by Michael Ende (1929–1995), firstly published in 1979, later adapted as a movie in 1984. Morla, the Ancient One, is a giant tortoise who lives in the Swamps of Sadness. The new species described herein is the oldest known species of the genus from the Early Miocene of Czechia; therefore, the Ancient One. Its remains come from the swamp deposits of Ahníkov, a parallel to the Swamps of Sadness.
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| Life restoration of Manouria morla sp. nov. Digital painting by Rudolf Hima |
Conclusion:
We describe Manouria morla sp. nov., the oldest member of the extant genus Manouria, from the Ahníkov I (formerly known as Merkur or Merkur-North) fossil site from Czechia (MN 3, Early Miocene). To aid the description, Manouria morla sp. nov. was scored and included in a phylogenetic analysis. According to our results, it seems that the genus Manouria originated in Europe just before the MMCO and later spread to Asia, where it persists until now. In the end, the use of the genus Manouria as an environmental indicator is coherent with the knowledge of the swamp ecosystem of the Most Basin.
Milan Chroust, Tomasz Szczygielski and Àngel H. Luján. 2025. Manouria morla sp. nov., the Ancient One: an Early Miocene large tortoise from the Swamps of Ahníkov, Czechia. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 144, 63. DOI: doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00400-6 [03 October 2025]
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