Late Pleistocene evidence for the presence of Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) in Sicily

This study describes the first fossils of Testudo hermanni hermanni from the island of Sicily (Late Pleistocene, Contrada Pianetti, Ragusa). They are among the most complete Pleistocene tortoise remains of Italy and by far the most informative ones from Sicily. The presence of two complete plastra permits the detection of a character typical of the extant nominotypical subspecies inhabiting Sicily and the Western Mediterranean area in general. In contrast to other regions and islands in the Western Mediterranean, from where fossils of T. hermanni are known, Sicily is one of the few refuges where the taxon survived until the Holocene according to genetic evidence. Interestingly, the faunal assemblage hosting these remains is not typical for an isolated island and insular, giant or large-sized tortoises, known to have survived in Sicily until the latest Pleistocene, are absent.