Turtles are a group highly specialized in their morphology and they are essential in
biodiversity. An exclusive feature of turtles is their shell, which includes protection to
their body. A dorsal and convex carapace forms the shell with bony plates fused to the
ribs, which cover the back and some internal parts of the skeleton. A ventral and flat
plastron, laterally joined by an area called the pons complete the ventral aspect of the
shell. Turtles present a distinct skull pattern considered by some authors of anapsids.
The skull is composed of bones fused through sutures, foramina and bone accidents.
The anatomical description of these species can help discover their taxonomic clade,
as well to compare morphological variations and possible family relationships. The
carapace, plastron and skull anatomy knowledge can be useful for some techniques,
such as necropsy, deflection, maceration, identification and illustration of bones. The
aim of the present study was provide the identification and digital illustration of the skull
and shell of the five species of turtles from the Podocnemididae family. This study
allowed the acquisition of knowledge about the osteology of this order, by comparing
the species of the same family, measuring the quantity, shape and absence of some
structures, being visualized in the skull nineteen pairs of cranial bones, being them the
frontal, prefrontal, postorbital, jugal, quadratus jugal, parietal, squamous,
supraoccipital, exoccipital, basioccipital, exoccipital, basisphenoid, pterygoid, palatine,
maxillary and premaxillary. And sixty bones, divided between the carapace and the
plastron. This work may support future research and hypotheses regarding the
morphology, osteology and taxonomy of these species.
Keywords: Anatomy; Morphology; Testudines; Digital
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