Notochelone
Extinct genus of turtles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Notochelone is an extinct genus of sea turtle, which existed about 100 million years ago.[1] The species was first described by Richard Owen in 1882 as Notochelys costata. It was renamed by Richard Lydekker in 1889.[2][3] It was the most common marine reptile living in the inlands of the sea around Queensland, Australia.[4] It was small turtle with carapace less than 1 metre (3.3 ft).[5][1] Analytical studies have indicated that the creatures frequently ate benthic molluscs.[6]
| Notochelone Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
| Type specimen, partial carapace | |
| Restoration | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Family: | †Protostegidae |
| Genus: | †Notochelone Lydekker, 1889 |
| Type species | |
| †Notochelys costata Owen, 1882 | |
| Synonyms | |
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