Helochelydrid

Helochelydridae

Helochelydridae

Extinct family of reptiles


The Helochelydridae are an extinct family of stem-turtles known from fossils found in North America and Europe spanning the Early to Late Cretaceous.[1][2]

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Genera ...

Description

The skull, shell and osteoderms of helochelydrids are covered in small, cylindrical protuberances, which are a distinctive characteristic of the group.[3] They are thought to be terrestrial, based on the presence of limb osteoderms (granicones) and bone histology.[4] Their skull morphology is dissimilar to that of extant tortoises, suggesting an omnivorous habit similar to that of box turtles.[5]

Taxonomy

Helochelydridae includes all turtles that are more closely related to Helochelydra than Sichuanchelys, Meiolania, or extant turtles.[6] Although referred to as Solemydidae in recent literature on extinct turtles, Helochelydridae has priority over Solemydidae. They are placed as part of the clade Perichelydia.[7] Some recent studies have recovered them as paracryptodires,[8][9] though other studies have found them to be more basal than paracryptodires.[10][11]

Genera

Indeterminate remains most similar to “Helochelydra” anglica and “Helochelydra” bakewelli have been reported from the Berriasian aged Angeac-Charente bonebed of France.[14]


References

  1. "†Helochelydridae Nopsca 1928". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. Scheyer, T. M.; Pérez-García, A.; Murelaga, X. (March 2015). "Shell bone histology of solemydid turtles (stem Testudines): palaeoecological implications". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 15 (1): 199–212. doi:10.1007/s13127-014-0188-0. ISSN 1439-6092. S2CID 18628827.
  3. WALTER, J.G., CHAPMAN S.D., MOODY R.T.J., and WALKER, C.A. 2011. The skull of the solemydid turtle Helochelydra nopcsai from the Early Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight (UK) and a review of Solemydidae IN BARRETT, P.M. and MILNER, A.R. (eds.) Studies on Fossil Tetrapods. Speicial Papers in Palaeontology, 86, 75-97.
  4. Hans-Dieter Sues (August 6, 2019). The Rise of Reptiles. 320 Million Years of Evolution. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 53. ISBN 9781421428680.
  5. Joyce, Walter G. (April 2017). "A review of the fossil record of basal Mesozoic turtles" (PDF). Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 58 (1): 65–113. doi:10.3374/014.058.0105. S2CID 54982901. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  6. Rollot, Yann; Evers, Serjoscha W.; Joyce, Walter G. (December 2021). "A redescription of the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) turtle Uluops uluops and a new phylogenetic hypothesis of Paracryptodira". Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 140 (1): 23. doi:10.1186/s13358-021-00234-y. ISSN 1664-2376. PMC 8550081. PMID 34721284.
  7. Tong, Haiyan; Tortosa, Thierry; Buffetaut, Eric; Dutour, Yves; Turini, Eric; Claude, Julien (January 2022). "A compsemydid turtle from the Upper Cretaceous of Var, southern France". Annales de Paléontologie. 108 (1): 102536. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2022.102536. S2CID 248792130.
  8. Tong, Haiyan; Buffetaut, Eric; Méchin, Patrick; Méchin-Salessy, Annie; Claude, Julien (2023-01-03). "A Solemys Skull from the Late Cretaceous of Southern France". Diversity. 15 (1): 58. doi:10.3390/d15010058. ISSN 1424-2818.
  9. A. Pérez-García; E. Espílez; L. Mampel; L. Alcalá (2019). "A new basal turtle represented by the two most complete skeletons of Helochelydridae in Europe". Cretaceous Research. 107: Article 104291. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104291. S2CID 210279023.
  10. Ronan Allain, Romain Vullo, Lee Rozada, Jérémy Anquetin, Renaud Bourgeais, et al.. Vertebrate paleobiodiversity of the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Angeac-Charente Lagerstätte (southwestern France): implications for continental faunal turnover at the J/K boundary. Geodiversitas, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle Paris, In press. ffhal-03264773f

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Helochelydrid, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.