Autor
- Dylan Bastiaans
- J. D. Carrillo-Briceño
- Loïc Costeur
- T. M. Scheyer
- Tandra Fairbanks-Freund
The first occurrence of “Plesiochelyidae” marine turtles in the Early Cretaceous of South America Artículo académico
Perfil
Resumen
- UNLABELLED: Thalassochelydians represent one of the earliest radiations of coastal to marine-adapted turtles, spanning from the Jurassic to Cretaceous periods. This study describes Craspedochelys renzi sp. nov., a new thalassochelydian, 'plesiochelyid' turtle from the Hauterivian stage of the Early Cretaceous in Colombia. It is the youngest and the only known record of ' Plesiochelyidae' outside Europe. The holotype, housed at the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, was rediscovered after over 60 years and includes a partial shell, hindlimb bones, and caudal vertebrae. C. renzi shares key traits with ' Plesiochelyidae', including a V-shaped posterior plastral lobe lacking an anal notch; an indentation at the hypoplastra-xiphiplastra contact; an 'intermediate' bone between neural 8 and suprapygal 1; a fully ossified carapace and bridge; and absence of carapacial fontanelles. Within ' Plesiochelyidae', it is assigned to Craspedochelys by its broader carapace, with an estimated length/width ratio of 4.12 for left costal 4, similar to other species in the genus; a relatively shorter plastron; and wider hyoplastra. Geological evidence links the specimen to the Moina Formation, a shallow marine deposit from the Hauterivian. This discovery expands the genus' spatial and temporal range, underscoring its evolutionary and paleobiogeographic significance. It highlights the importance of museum collections in re-evaluating long-overlooked specimens, enriching our understanding of past biodiversity and turtle dispersal patterns. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13358-025-00394-1.
autores
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http://vivoweb.org/ontology/core#FacultyMemberCadena Rueda, Edwin Alberto
fecha de publicación
- 2025-8-24
Área temática
Edición
- 144
Identidad
Número Internacional Normalizado de Publicaciones Seriadas (ISSN)
- 1664-2376
Identificador de objeto digital (DOI)
Información adicional de documento
Página inicial
- 52