Baska

Batagur Origins: where did turtles of the genus Batagur originally evolve and how do we know?   Prologue A large river turtle powers its way smoothly against the current of a voluminous river. The temperate climate of its surrounds provide it a rich bounty that make its ability to swim in strong currents pay off. Its river is changing, slowly but surely, as the Indian subcontinent contacts and begins to push against the Eurasian continent. Rivers change course and a section that was previously near the coast is now far inland. Having evolved to deal with river mouth tides and strong currents, our turtle is now in a deep, upriver section. The environment is warm and forests abound. So may have been the evolution of the shared ancestor of the large river turtles of the genera Batagur and Hardella.  Today these genera exist, from India, eastward through Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam; and south through Malaysia and Indonesia, to Borneo. They are strong swim...