Neochelys
Extinct genus of turtles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neochelys (Greek for "new turtle") is an extinct genus of freshwater side-necked turtle that inhabited Europe during the Eocene. It was a diverse genus known throughout western and southern Europe from the Ypresian to the Priabonian.[1]
| Neochelys Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
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| N. franzeni specimens at the Senckenberg Museum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Pleurodira |
| Family: | Podocnemididae |
| Subfamily: | Erymnochelyinae |
| Genus: | †Neochelys Bergounioux, 1954 |
| Type species | |
| †Emys capellinii de Zigno, 1890 | |
| Species | |
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See text | |
Taxonomy
The following species are known:[1][2]
- †N. arenarum de Broin, 1977 – early-mid Ypresian of France (Lignites de Soissonais)[3]
- †N. arribasi (Jiménez-Fuentes, 1975) - Bartonian or Priabonian of Spain (Aldearrubia Formation)[4]
- †N. capellinii (de Zigno, 1890) (type species) – latest Ypresian or earliest Lutetian of Italy (Monte Bolca) (=Emys capellinii)
- †N. eocaenica (de Stefano, 1902) – latest Ypresian or earliest Lutetian of France (Grès d'Aigne Formation)
- †N. franzeni Schleich, 1993 – early Lutetian of Germany (Messel Formation)[5]
- †N. laurenti Tong, 1998 – mid-late Ypresian of France (Saint-Papoul Formation)[6]
- †N. liriae Pérez-García & de Broin, 2013 – mid-late Ypresian of France (Grès d'Assignan Formation)
- †N. salmanticensis Jiménez-Fuentes, 1971 – Bartonian of Spain (=Podocnemis carbajosai)[7]
- †N. zamorensis Jiménez-Fuentes, 1992 – late Lutetian of Spain (Entrala Formation)
Indeterminate remains are known from the latest Eocene (Priabonian) of France and Spain; these have not been assigned to a specific species, but represent the youngest record of the genus.[1] The species "N." fajumensis from the Oligocene of Egypt was briefly assigned to this genus, but is now thought to belong to its own genus, Shetwemys.[8]
Morphological analyses suggest that Neochelys likely represents an ancient lineage of the Erymnochelyinae, sister to the clade composed of the South American Peltocephalus and the Malagasy Erymnochelys.[5] The taxonomic relationships between the multiple Neochelys species remain largely unknown. It has been suggested that N. eocaenica, N. capellinii, and N. salmanticensis together form a species complex known as the "N. eocaenica complex", but this is uncertain.[1]
Palaeopathology
A Neochelys sp. specimen exhibiting pelvic asymmetry has been found in the Duero Basin. Potential causes, none of which can be ruled out, of this palaeopathology include metabolic bone disease, a developmental abnormality, or some sort of traumatic injury.[9]