Fontainechelon
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| Fontainechelon Temporal range: Early Eocene (Early Ypresian) | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Family: | Testudinidae |
| Genus: | †Fontainechelon Pérez-García et. al., 2016 |
Fontainechelon is an extinct genus of testudinid from Saint Papoul, France during the Early Eocene. It is known from a single species, F. cassouleti.[1]
Fontainechelon is the oldest European testudinid, and the most basal of all testudinids.[1][2]
It was named after Jean de La Fontaine, alluding to some of his fables in which the protagonist was a tortoise.
