The last tortoise of Crimea: first record from the Early Pleistocene
Journal: Historical Biology
Year: 2022

Fragments of a shell and limb bones of tortoise (Testudinidae: Testudo s. l.) were found in the Lower Pleistocene deposits of the Taurida Cave, Crimean Peninsula. The remains belong to a relatively large individual with a shell of about 35 cm in length, which is larger than the modern Mediterranean representatives of Testudo s. l. The specimen is the first testudinid record in the Pleistocene of Crimea and apparently represents the last testudinid on the peninsula.