Prehistoric Period

When compared to other turtle species, the Black marsh turtle—scientifically known as Siebenrockiella crassicollis—does not appear very often in fossil records. Although there isn't a tonne of proof that turtles were there in ancient times, you should know that their evolutionary lineage goes back more than 200 million years.

The fossil record is extensive for turtles in general, with several species identified from different epochs. Fossils of turtles have been found dating back to the Triassic era, suggesting that these animals have been around for a long time on our planet. Partial shells or shells consisting of many separate plates were common features of these prehistoric turtles' shell architectures, which differed from those of contemporary turtles.

However, there are gaps in the fossil record and inadequate preservation of turtle remains in some geological formations, making it hard to establish the precise evolutionary ancestry of individual turtle species, like the Black marsh turtle. The Black marsh turtle probably had ancient predecessors, but we may not know much about their evolutionary past because of the paucity of evidence.

Molecular phylogenetic studies and other research on the evolutionary relationships of extant turtle species provide light on their past and how they relate to turtle lineages that have since died out.

To better understand the ancient origins of turtles, scientists compare genetic data from live turtles with information from fossil specimens. This allows them to recreate the evolutionary links between various turtle groups.