Sichuanchelyidae
Extinct family of turtles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sichuanchelyidae is a family of extinct turtles in the clade Testudinata. It includes all perichelydians that are more closely related to Sichuanchelys than Meiolania, Helochelydra, or any extant turtles.[1]
| Sichuanchelyidae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
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| Sichuanchelys skull in multiple views | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Pantestudines |
| Clade: | Testudinata |
| Clade: | Perichelydia |
| Family: | †Sichuanchelyidae |
| Genera | |
| |
Systematics
The family Sichuanchelyidae was originally created to accommodate the Middle Jurassic Chinese turtle Sichuanchelys, and it was considered monotypic until Joyce et al. (2016) recovered the problematic Late Cretaceous turtle Mongolochelys from Mongolia as a close relative of Sichuanchelys.[2][3][4] The late Paleocene form Laurasichersis from Europe is the youngest sichuanchelyid, showing that stem turtles in Laurasia outlived the Mesozoic.[5]
