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]

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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. [1]
    "†Helochelydridae Nopsca 1928". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. [2]
    Joyce WG; Rabi M; Clark JM; Xu X. (2016). "A toothed turtle from the Late Jurassic of China and the global biogeographic history of turtles". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 16 (1): 236. doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0762-5. PMC 5084352. PMID 27793089.
  3. [3]
    Gentry, Andrew D.; Ebersole, Jun A. (2021-08-10). "The first occurrence of the stem turtle Naomichelys from the Late Cretaceous of eastern North America". Historical Biology. 34 (7): 1129–1136. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.1962855. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 238677455.
  4. [4]
    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.
  5. [5]
    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.
  6. [6]
    Hans-Dieter Sues (August 6, 2019). The Rise of Reptiles. 320 Million Years of Evolution. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 53. ISBN 9781421428680.
  7. [7]
    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.
  8. [8]
    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.
  9. [9]
    Rollot, Yann; Evers, Serjoscha W.; Pierce, Stephanie E.; Joyce, Walter G. (2022-11-02). "Cranial osteology, taxonomic reassessment, and phylogenetic relationships of the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) turtle Trinitichelys hiatti (Paracryptodira)". PeerJ. 10: e14138. doi:10.7717/peerj.14138. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 9636874. PMID 36345484.
  10. [10]
    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.
  11. [11]
    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.
  12. [12]
    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.
  13. [13]
    Joyce, Walter G. (2022-10-04). "A review of helochelydrid shell material from late Albian to early Cenomanian greensands of Southern England, United Kingdom". The Anatomical Record: ar.25086. doi:10.1002/ar.25086. ISSN 1932-8486. PMID 36193668. S2CID 252693787.
  14. [14]
    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
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