Disentangling the Pelomedusa complex using type specimens and historical DNA (Testudines: Pelomedusidae) Author Fritz, Uwe Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany uwe.fritz@senckenberg.de Author Petzold, Alice Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany Author Kehlmaier, Christian Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany Author Kindler, Carolin Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany Author Campbell, Patrick Department of Zoology, Darwin Centre (DC 1), Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW 7 5 BD, England Author Hofmeyr, Margaretha D. Chelonian Biodiversity and Conservation, Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X 17, Bellville 7535, South Africa Author Branch, William R. Department of Herpetology, Port Elizabeth Museum, P. O. Box 13147, Humewood 6013, South Africa & Department of Zoology, P. O. Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa Corresponding author. E-mail: uwe. fritz @ senckenberg. de text Zootaxa 2014 2014-05-15 3795 5 501 522 journal article 5606 10.11646/zootaxa.3795.5.1 27b8f170-95d1-4132-a493-c0b78c109163 1175-5326 4915064 3034E613-829A-4E56-A860-CA2A7C23B8FA Pelomedusa gasconi Rochebrune, 1884 Rochebrune (1884 : pp. 25–26; plate 1: figs 1–2) described helmeted terrapins from several sites in Senegal (“Dagana, Saidé, lac de N’Guer, marigot des Maringouins” [the latter meaning mosquito oxbows of N’Gor lake, Dakar , Senegal ]) as his new species Pelomedusa gasconi , which was later synonymized by Loveridge (1941 : p. 480) with Pelomedusa subrufa olivacea . In accordance with this assignment, Rochebrune’s (1884) plate 1 shows a helmeted terrapin with widely separated pectoral scutes, although Rochbrune explained that this character may be variable (pp. 26–27). According to Angel (in Loveridge 1941 : p. 480), there was no type specimen of Pelomedusa gasconi preserved. Loveridge (1941 : p. 480) restricted the type locality to Dagana, Senegal , which is invalid without lectotype or neotype designation ( cf. ICZN 1999: Art. 76). The sites of the composed type locality are up to 400 km distant from one another. To restrict the type locality and to associate the name Pelomedusa gasconi Rochebrune, 1884 unambiguously with a genetic lineage of Pelomedusa , we designate in accordance with Article 75 (ICZN 1999) a topotypic specimen from Dakar as its neotype (ZFMK 17076, a subadult female of 11.18 cm straight carapacial length in alcohol; Fig. 6 , bottom). For the neotype , mtDNA sequences are available (see also above under Emys olivacea Schweigger, 1812 ). Thus, the name Pelomedusa gasconi is to be identified with the same genetic lineage as Emys olivacea (lineage III of Vargas- Ramírez et al. 2010; Fig. 1 ) and becomes a subjective junior synonym of the latter name, if lineage III is deemed taxonomically distinct.