A review of the fossil record of turtles of the clades platychelyidae and dortokidae

Edwin Cadena, Walter G. Joyce

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

The fossil record of platychelyid turtles expands from the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) of Cuba to the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) of Colombia. Platychelyids were adapted to freshwater to coastal environments. Current phylogenies confidently suggest that platychelyids are situated along the stem lineage of crown Pleurodira. A taxonomic review of the group concludes that of six named "platychelyid" taxa, four are valid and two are nomina nuda. Dortokids are a poorly understood group of freshwater aquatic turtles that are restricted to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) to Eocene (Lutetian) of Europe. The phylogenetic position of the group is still under debate, but there is some evidence that these turtles are positioned along the stem lineage of crown Pleurodira as well. A taxonomic review of the group concludes that of four named dortokid taxa, two are valid, one is a nomen invalidum and one a nomen nudum.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3-20
Number of pages18
JournalBulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History
Volume56
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2015
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Plant Science

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