Stahlschmidt, M. C.
Mentzer, S. M.
Heinrich, S.
Cooper, A.
Grote, M. N.
McNeill, P. J.
Wilder, J. C.-B.
Steele, T. E.
Funding for this research was provided by:
National Science Foundation
University of Vienna
Article History
Received: 13 December 2022
Accepted: 5 June 2023
First Online: 2 August 2023
Declarations
:
: All tortoise specimens were collected with the full permission and support of South African National (SAN) Parks, granted to T.E. Steele. All tortoises were already deceased when collected, and none were sacrificed for this sample. Their conservation status is of “least concern” on International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and therefore, they were available for collection without additional permissions. The mammal bones used in the model were likewise obtained from animals that had died due to other causes, with the majority purchased from local butchers or obtained from game wardens. A smaller number of bones were obtained from roadkill and surface recovery of dead animals in local forests.
: All authors consented to participate in this study and its publication.
: MCS is an associate editor for the journal and is co-organizing this topical collection but was not involved in the editorial process of this article. The authors declare no further competing interests.