Fossil musk turtles (Kinosternidae,Sternotherus) from the late Miocene–early Pliocene (Hemphillian) of Tennessee and Florida
ABSTRACTThe oldest fossil musk turtles, genus Sternotherus, are reported from the Hemphillian of eastern Tennessee and central Florida. Sternotherus palaeodorus, n. sp., is known from five partial shells discovered at the late Miocene–early Pliocene (7–4.5 Ma; late Hemphillian) Gray Fossil Site in Washington County, Tennessee. Sternotherus palaeodorus possesses an enlarged intergular scute, wide first vertebral scute that overlaps peripheral set 1, posteriorly extensive hypoplastron to peripheral 7 contact, and a posteriorly situated inguinal musk duct pore (characteristics more typically seen in Kinosternon). A cladistic analysis recovered S. palaeodorus within crown group Sternotherus in the strict consensus and on the stem of Sternotherus in the majority rule consensus. Sternotherus bonevalleyensis, n. sp., from the Palmetto Fauna (5.5–5 Ma; late Hemphillian) of central Florida was perhaps contemporaneous with S. palaeodorus and is known only from isolated shell fragments. It is morphologically most si...