Eorhynchochelys

Eorhynchochelys (meaning "dawn-beaked turtle" in Greek) is an extinct genus of stem-turtle from the Late Triassic Xiaowa Formation (or Wayao Member of the Falang Formation) of southwestern China.

Eorhynchochelys
Temporal range: Late Triassic, 230 Ma
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Pantestudines
Genus: †Eorhynchochelys
Li et al., 2018
Type species
†Eorhynchochelys sinensis
Li et al., 2018

Description

Eorhynchochelys is notable for its unusual combination of a turtle-style skull and a conventional reptilian body. The skull, for example, has an edentulous beak typical of all members of Testudinata. However, the thorax region is markedly different from Pappochelys and Odontochelys and more similar to Eunotosaurus in lacking a shell, even though the ribs were wide and flat. The skull also has a single pair of holes behind the skull, unlike the presence of two pairs of holes in Pappochelys.[1][2]

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References
  1. Li, Chun; Fraser, Nicholas C.; Rieppel, Olivier; Wu, Xiao-Chun (2018). "A Triassic stem turtle with an edentulous beak". Nature. 560 (7719): 476–479. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0419-1. PMID 30135526.
  2. Rehm, Jeremy (2018). "230-million-year-old turtle fossil deepens mystery of reptile's origins". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-06012-0.


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