Pelomedusa galeata damarensis Hewitt, 1935

Fritz, Uwe, Petzold, Alice, Kehlmaier, Christian, Kindler, Carolin, Campbell, Patrick, Hofmeyr, Margaretha D. & Branch, William R., 2014, Disentangling the Pelomedusa complex using type specimens and historical DNA (Testudines: Pelomedusidae), Zootaxa 3795 (5), pp. 501-522 : 515

Pelomedusa galeata damarensis Hewitt, 1935

This subspecies was based on two syntypes (shells) from “Quickborn, near Okahandja, South West Africa” [ Namibia] ( Hewitt 1935: p. 338). Actually, Quickborn is a farm approximately halfway between Okahandja and Otjiwarongo, Namibia. Following Mertens (1937: p. 139) and Loveridge (1941: p. 474), Pelomedusa galeata damarensis was later synonymized with the nominotypical subspecies of the helmeted terrapin, if the species was regarded as polytypic. Herrmann & Branch (2013: p. 102) suggested that Pelomedusa galeata damarensis is morphologically distinctive and may deserve specific recognition.

The two syntypes of Pelomedusa galeata damarensis are now in the collection of the Port Elizabeth Museum (PEM R14953–R14954) and were examined for the present study. Whilst PEM R14953 is perfectly preserved, parts of the epidermal scutes on the right carapacial margin of PEM R14954 are missing. We designate herewith the better preserved specimen PEM R14953 ( Fig. 7 , top) as lectotype of Pelomedusa galeata damarensis . Tissue for genetic investigation was extracted from both type specimens. From PEM R14953, 252 bp of the 12S rRNA gene could be successfully sequenced, whereas only 35 bp of the 12S rRNA gene and 319 bp of the cyt b gene could be generated for PEM R14954 ( Table 2 ).

In phylogenetic analyses ( Fig. 1 ), the sequences of both type specimens are embedded with high support within lineage VIII of Vargas-Ramírez et al. (2010). The oldest available name for lineage VIII is Testudo subrufa Bonnaterre, 1789 (see above), rendering Pelomedusa galeata damarensis Hewitt, 1935 a subjective junior synonym of the previous name, if lineage VIII should be regarded as taxonomically distinct.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Maximum Likelihood tree for Pelomedusa, based on 1848 bp of mitochondrial DNA (12S, cyt b, ND4+tRNAs), rooted with Pelusios sinuatus. The tree topology completely matches the one inferred by Bayesian analyses. Numbers along nodes indicate bootstrap support and Bayesian posterior probabilities greater than 50 or 0.95, respectively (not shown for some terminal clades with short branches). Sample codes are voucher numbers; see Table S1 for explanation. Name-bearing types (red) and paralectotypes or topotypic samples (blue) highlighted. On the right, mitochondrial lineages of Vargas-Ramírez et al. (2010) indicated. No topotypic material of Pelomedusa galeata orangensis Hewitt, 1935 could be sequenced. However, the lost holotype is thought to come from the vicinity of Kimberley (South Africa) and all South African samples belong to lineage IX, so it can be concluded that Pelomedusa galeata orangensis represents the same lineage. Inset: Helmeted terrapin from the Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. Photo: M. Gregorič.

FIGURE 7. Dorsal and ventral views of the lectotype of Pelomedusa galeata damarensis Hewitt, 1935 (PEM R14953, adult male, straight carapacial length 14.0 cm; top) and of the holotype of Pelomedusa galeata devilliersi Hewitt, 1935 (PEM R14962, adult female, straight carapacial length 19.24 cm; bottom). Scale bars, 3 cm. Photos: W.R. Branch.