Chelus
Genus of turtles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chelus is a genus of large freshwater turtles found in tropical South America. Formerly considered to be a monotypic genus,[3] it now consists of two extant species after Chelus orinocensis was identified in 2020 from a genetic analysis.[4]
| Chelus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chelus fimbriatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Pleurodira |
| Family: | Chelidae |
| Subfamily: | Chelinae |
| Genus: | Chelus Duméril, 1805[2] |
Evolution
Fossils of the extinct †C. colombianus have been found in Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil, including a skull dating to the early Miocene (~ 16 m.y.) of the Castilletes Formation, Cocinetas Basin, in Colombia. The fossil shows that the skull morphology of Chelus has been almost unchanged since the Miocene.[5][6]
Species
There are two extant recognized species in this genus[3][7] and one extinct species:[1]
- Chelus fimbriatus – Amazon mata mata
- Chelus orinocensis – Orinoco mata mata
- †Chelus colombianus – Columbian mata mata (Early-Late Miocene)[8][6]
