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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Fossils reveal a big tortoise that once plodded island shores

A now-extinct species of large reptile lived on Madagascar, where its relatives still reside.
A large plowshare tortoise stands near a tree

The plowshare tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora) of Madagascar is closely related to a newly identified, extinct species. Credit: Gerald Kuchling

Ancient DNA has revealed a previously unknown, but extinct, species of tortoise that once lived on Madagascar1.

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Nature 613, 614 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00047-8

References

  1. Kehlmaier, C. et al. Sci. Adv. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abq2574 (2023).

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