The oldest evidence of Testudo graeca (Testudinidae) in the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The Testudo graeca (i.e., Greek Tortoise or Spur-thighed Tortoise) origin in Western Europe is a subject of debate within the scientific community. The species is a part of the current Spanish biodiversity, with three isolated populations, located in the south-eastern (Almeria and Murcia) and south-western (Doñana National Park, Andalusia) areas of the Iberian Peninsula, and in the Mallorca Island (Balearic Islands). Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, putative references to the presence of Testudo graeca in the Iberian paleontological and archaeozoological records were relatively common. However, many of them were refuted in subsequent papers and, those that were not, are currently considered as doubtful. The aim of this work is to present and describe the oldest indisputable remains of Testudo graeca in the Iberian Peninsula. They correspond to several individuals, hitherto unpublished, recovered as grave goods in two tombs at the Plaza Marqués de Busianos 5 site (Valencia, eastern Spain), dated between the first and second centuries AD.