Title |
One Extinct Turtle Species Less: Pelusios seychellensis Is Not Extinct, It Never Existed
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, April 2013
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0057116 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Heiko Stuckas, Richard Gemel, Uwe Fritz |
Abstract |
Pelusios seychellensis is thought to be a freshwater turtle species endemic to the island of Mahé, Seychelles. There are only three museum specimens from the late 19(th) century known. The species has been never found again, despite intensive searches on Mahé. Therefore, P. seychellensis has been declared as "Extinct" by the IUCN and is the sole putatively extinct freshwater turtle species. Using DNA sequences of three mitochondrial genes of the historical type specimen and phylogenetic analyses including all other species of the genus, we provide evidence that the description of P. seychellensis was erroneously based on a widely distributed West African species, P. castaneus. Consequently, we synonymize the two species and delete P. seychellensis from the list of extinct chelonian species and from the faunal list of the Seychelles. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 10 | 23% |
United Kingdom | 5 | 11% |
France | 2 | 5% |
Spain | 2 | 5% |
Mexico | 2 | 5% |
Japan | 1 | 2% |
Australia | 1 | 2% |
Singapore | 1 | 2% |
Germany | 1 | 2% |
Other | 3 | 7% |
Unknown | 16 | 36% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 27 | 61% |
Scientists | 9 | 20% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 7 | 16% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Brazil | 3 | 8% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 3% |
Canada | 1 | 3% |
Argentina | 1 | 3% |
Unknown | 31 | 84% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 7 | 19% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 6 | 16% |
Researcher | 5 | 14% |
Student > Bachelor | 4 | 11% |
Professor | 3 | 8% |
Other | 8 | 22% |
Unknown | 4 | 11% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 22 | 59% |
Environmental Science | 5 | 14% |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 5 | 14% |
Physics and Astronomy | 1 | 3% |
Unknown | 4 | 11% |