Project title:

Turtles from Czechia and Poland: An overview of common evolution in Central Europe since the Triassic until Recent

This research is part of the project No. 2022/45/P/NZ8/00600 co-funded by the National Science Centre and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska -Curie grant agreement No. 945339.













Project managers:

---

Dr Milan Chroust

Research profile
e-mail: chroust@twarda.pan.pl

Dr Tomasz Szczygielski

Research profile
e-mail: t.szczygielski@twarda.pan.pl

Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Twarda 51/55
00-818 Warsaw
tel. +48 22 697 88 50
Description of the research base



About the project

---

The main goal of this research is a revision of fossil turtles (Testudinata) from Czechia and Poland. Much historical fossil turtle material from these countries has not been revised in decades and, surprisingly, some specimens even in a century. Progress in the understanding of fossil turtle phylogeny and taxonomy that occurred over the last decades renders many original identifications dubious or invalid. Even worse, many specimens were published in local, non- English language publications and never figured, which virtually excluded them from the current scientific discourse. Besides historical specimens, new material has been discovered recently and awaits scientific evaluation. Therefore, the actual total diversity of turtles in Central Europe (meaning Czechia and Poland) and its changes since the Mesozoic remain unknown. Fossil turtles are good indicators of paleoclimatic reconstructions, that provide novel data that allows reconstructing zonation of the environment, the mean annual temperature, and – together with the remaining herpetological fauna – precipitation, as well. However, for proper paleoclimatic reconstructions, proper taxonomic identification is a prerequisite. The fossil record from Czechia contains Mesozoic and Cenozoic representatives of turtles. For example, Miocene turtles are abundant and high diversity is expected. Similar conditions are preserved in the Polish fossil record, where especially Triassic and Cenozoic deposits are rich. As for now, Czech and Polish biodiversity is more or less similar. Analogous conditions can be expected in the past and a simultaneous study of the Czech and Polish material will allow avoiding taxonomic misidentification and diagnosing specimens in a broader context. Besides traditional methods, the proposed project will use modern imaging technologies like photogrammetry or 3D surface scanners to obtain the most complete and accurate digital models, which will be shared with the international scientific community.

News

---

16.07.2024
Chomutov and Ústí n. Labem
Two other Czech regional museums were visited, Regional Museum in Chomutov and Municipal Museum of Ústí nad Labem to study the turtle material housed in their collections. Well-preserved turtle shells from the Most Basin were discovered and digitized.

27.05.2024
Tomasz Szczygielski returned to his Alma Mater, the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, to give a lecture about turtle evolution to the students of Breeding and Preservation of Wild and Companion Animals. Big thanks to Prof. Maciej Kamaszewski for the invitation!























20.05.2024
International cooperation! The fellow Milan Chroust met in Prague with Dr. Àngel Hernández Luján from the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont to study a very important fossil turtle. Together they move forward with the research and the results are expected soon!

13.05.2024
Milan Chroust and Dr. Justyna Slowiak were invited by Prof. Maciej Kamaszewski to the Warsaw University of Life Sciences to give a lecture for the students on how we understand evolution and how we can interpret it thanks to the fossil record.





















06.05.2024
For Earth Day, Milan Chroust with his colleagues from the Institute of Paleobiology, PAS visited the Primary School No. 205 and prepared a lecture focused on fossil turtles. Several topics have been debated and the children were amazed by the largest turtles, some of which lived even in Poland.





















08.04.2024
Apart from materials stored at the capitol, we travelled to visit a regional museum. At first, we started in Teplice, where dozens of fossil turtles mostly from Břeštany fossil site are deposited. The collection of trionychids is large and other researchers are welcome to examine local treasures.

05-10.04.2024
Both participants of the project spent three days at the National Museum in Prague, where hundreds of specimens are stored. An unbelievable amount of specimens showed so many details that they even reveal the sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic development. A fantastic further step in the project!

03.04.2024
The fellow Milan Chroust and his mentor Tomasz Szczygielski spent whole day at the collections of the Chlupáč's Museum of Earth History at the Charles University in Prague. Several specimens were digitized and will be accessible in the prepared database.























03.04.2024
Tomasz Szczygielski visited the Charles University in Prague. Besides the study the specimens housed in the collection, he held a lecture about the world of ancient turtles. He introduced the oldest fossil turtles and summarized the current knowledge about the Mesozoic and Cenozoic taxa not only from Poland and Czechia. The students and professors were excited at how rich the Czech and Polish fossil record is.

25.03.2024
Milan Chroust held a science talk for the public audience at the National Museum in Prague. The talk focused on the evolution of turtles and included fossils from Poland and Czechia. The concept of the Polonez Bis project No. 2022/45/P/NZ8/00600 was introduced as well. The heated discussion with the audience showed the general interest in the topic and therefore further talks are requested.

21.03.2024
The Institute of Paleobiology, PAS prepared a workshop for students from the ZDOLNI program by Krajowy Fundusz na rzecz Dzieci. The fellow Milan Chroust and his mentor Tomasz Szczygielski did not focus solely on the research on fossil turtles. The students later identified fossils by themselves and tried several different methods to interpret the data.

11.03.2024
Milan Chroust presented preliminary results of the current project to at the scientific staff of the Institute of Paleobiology, PAS. Further discussion improved the current interpretation of selected data and additional tips were included in the project.

28.11.2023
Milan Chroust held a science talk about his Polonez Bis project No. 2022/45/P/NZ8/00600 at the University of Warsaw. He discussed with the academic members and students the occurrences of fossil turtles in Czechia and Poland.























21.11.2023
Turtle workshop for scholarship holders of the ZDOLNI Program run by the Krajowy Fundusz na rzecz Dzieci was held at the Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The kids learned the differences between the bones and dermal scutes and they built their own turtle.

10.11.2023
Fellow and his mentor studied a very important specimen of Glarichelys knorri housed in the Regional Museum in Jasło. This is yet another piece of the puzzle!

09.11.2023
After some time, the researchers visited ISEZ PAN again to study the collection of extant and fossil turtles. Together with Dr. Georgalis, the curator of the herpetological collection, they digitized several important species.

22.06.2023
Another collection was visited. The fellow and his mentor visited Prof. Piotr Węgierek at the University of Silesia in Katowice. A very important fossil of a Neogene marine turtle was documented and transported for further analysis.























21.06.2023
The researchers visited a collection of the Institute of the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, PAS to study fossil turtles. Together with Dr. Georgalis, the curator of the herpetological collection, they discovered several amazing fossils important for their further research.


















19.06-20.06.2023
The fellow Milan Chroust and his mentor Tomasz Szczygielski attended a Kick-off meeting in Kraków organised by the NCN. They both attended a workshop on career development, conducted by the POLONEZ BIS programme’s partner – CRAC-Vitae – and learned more about publishing in Open Access.























16.06.2023
The fellow Milan Chroust and his mentor Tomasz Szczygielski together with other members of the Institute of Paleobiology, PAS prepared a workshop for students from the program ZDOLNI by Krajowy Fundusz na rzecz Dzieci. The workshop was focused on the research of fossil turtles and students identified fossils by themselves and tried several different methods to interpret the data.

---

---