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Drazinderetes
''Drazinderetes'' is a large bodied genus of soft shell turtle from the Middle Eocene Drazinda Formation of Pakistan. Its presence in the shallow marine deposits of the Drazinda Formation suggests that ''Drazinderetes'' may have been a partially or fully marine animal. Indetermined trionychine remains from the same formation may suggest that ''Drazinderetes'' could have been among the largest known turtles, with one entoplastron indicating a potential length of 1.5 to 2.1 meters. ''Drazinderetes'' currently consists of only a single species: ''Drazinderetes tethyensis''. Discovery and naming The first surveys of the Drazinda Formation were conducted in 1993 and 1996 by the Geological Survey of Pakistan and the University of Michigan. The holotype (GSP-UM 3 195) of ''Drazinderetes'', a nearly complete carapace, was found during the 1996 exploration of the area west of Satta Post in sediments of Bartonian age (39 - 38 Ma) that also yielded archaeocetes and primitive sea cows. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trionychinae
The Trionychinae are a subfamily of turtles in the family Trionychidae. Classification The subfamily has 11 extant genera: *''Amyda'' *''Apalone'' *'' Axestemys'' *'' Chitra'' *'' Dogania'' *''Drazinderetes'' *'' Gobiapalone'' *''Khunnuchelys'' *'' Murgonemys'' *'' Nilssonia'' *'' Oliveremys'' *'' Palea'' *''Palaeoamyda'' *''Pelochelys'' *''Pelodiscus'' *'' Rafetoides'' (nomen dubium) *''Rafetus'' *''Trionyx ''Trionyx'' is a genus of softshell turtles belonging to the family Trionychidae. In the past many species in the family were classified in this genus, but today '' T. triunguis'', the African or Nile softshell turtle, is the only extant softshel ...'' References {{Taxonbar, from=Q2036081 Tetrapod subfamilies Taxa named by John Edward Gray ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stupendemys
''Stupendemys'' is an extinct genus of freshwater side-necked turtle, belonging to the family Podocnemididae. It is the largest freshwater turtle known to have existed, with a carapace over 2 meters long. Its fossils have been found in northern South America, in rocks dating from the Middle Miocene to the very start of the Pliocene, about 13 to 5 million years ago. Male specimens are known to have possessed bony horns growing from the front edges of the shell and the discovery of the fossil of a young adult shows that the carapace of these turtles flattens with age. A fossil skull described in 2021 indicates that ''Stupendemys'' was a generalist feeder. History and naming ''Stupendemys'' was first named in 1976 by Roger C. Wood based on specimen MCNC-244, the medial portion of a large sized carapace with associated left femur, scapulacoracoid and a cervical vertebra. Wood also described several other specimens he referred to ''Stupendemys'', which includes MCZ(P)-4376. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axestemys
''Axestemys'' is an extinct genus of softshell turtle that lived from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene in western North America and Europe. ''Axestemys'', like its modern relatives, had no scutes on its carapace, which probably had leathery, pliable skin at the sides. Despite living several million years ago, ''Axestemys'' would have looked very similar to its modern relatives, with a long neck, a sharp beak, and three toes on each foot. All species of ''Axestemys'' grew to a large size, especially ''A. byssina'', that could reach a total length of or more, being larger than any modern day species of softshell turtle. Based on the diet of modern softshell turtles, it was an omnivore, eating water plants, invertebrates, and perhaps small fish. See also * ''Drazinderetes'', another enormous trionychid * ''Stupendemys'', a giant prehistoric freshwater side-necked turtle * ''Archelon'', a giant sea turtle of the Cretaceous * Largest prehistoric animals The largest prehistori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Global Biodiversity Information Facility
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the world; GBIF's information architecture makes these data accessible and searchable through a single portal. Data available through the GBIF portal are primarily distribution data on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes for the world, and scientific names data. The mission of the GBIF is to facilitate free and open access to biodiversity data worldwide to underpin sustainable development. Priorities, with an emphasis on promoting participation and working through partners, include mobilising biodiversity data, developing protocols and standards to ensure scientific integrity and interoperability, building an informatics architecture to allow the interlinking of diverse data types from disparate sources, promoting capacity building and cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khunnuchelys
''Khunnuchelys'' was a genus of trionychine turtle from the Late Cretaceous of Asia. Three species are known, ''K. erinhotensis'', the type species, ''K. kizylkumensis'', and ''K. lophorhothon''. ''K. erinhotensis'' is known from the Iren Dabasu Formation in China from the late Turonian until the middle Campanian. ''K. kizylkumensis'' is known from the late Turonian Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan. The third species, described in 2013 by Danilov ''et al.'', is known from the early to middle Campanian aged Bostobe Formation of Kazakhstan. History of naming ''K. lophorothon'' is known from two skulls, and has a complex history of classifications. Originally, it was assigned to the dinosaur genus cf. ''Lophorhothon'' by Lev Alexandrovitch Nessov in 1995 as an unidentified species. Later, it was correctly transferred to the genus ''Khunnuchelys'' by Danilov and Vitek (2012), but was not described in any detail. The two skulls were named ''Khunnuchelys'' sp. 1 and ''Khunnuchelys'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Podocnemididae
Podocnemididae is a family of pleurodire (side-necked) turtles, once widely distributed. Most of its 20 genera and 30 species are now extinct. Seven of its eight surviving species are native to South America: the genus ''Peltocephalus'', with only one species (''P. dumerilianus'', the big-headed Amazon River turtle); and the genus ''Podocnemis'', with six living species of South American side-necked river turtles. There is also one genus native to Madagascar: ''Erymnochelys'', the Madagascan big-headed turtle, whose single species ''E. madagascariensis''. Like other pleurodire turtles, podocs have a "side-necked" defensive posture, turning the head sideways to hide it under the shell. Another characteristic of pleurodires is that the pelvis is fused to the shell which prevents pelvic motion, making it difficult to walk on land. Podocnemididae turtles live in aquatic environments and have shells streamlined to aid in swimming. Taxonomy and systematics According to Ferreira et ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archelon
''Archelon'' is an extinct marine turtle from the Late Cretaceous, and is the largest turtle ever to have been documented, with the biggest specimen measuring from head to tail and in body mass. It is known only from the Dakota Pierre Shale and has one species, ''A. ischyros''. In the past, the genus also contained ''A. marshii'' and ''A. copei'', though these have been reassigned to '' Protostega'' and ''Microstega'', respectively. The genus was named in 1895 by American paleontologist George Reber Wieland based on a skeleton from South Dakota, who placed it into the extinct family Protostegidae. The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea'') was once thought to be its closest living relative, but now, Protostegidae is thought to be a completely separate lineage from any living sea turtle. ''Archelon'' had a leathery carapace instead of the hard shell seen in sea turtles. The carapace may have featured a row of small ridges, each peaking at in height. It had an esp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protostegidae
Protostegidae is a family of extinct sea turtle, marine turtles that lived during the Cretaceous period. The family includes some of the largest sea turtles that ever existed. The largest, ''Archelon'', had a head long. Like most sea turtles, they had flattened bodies and flipper (anatomy), flippers for front appendages; protostegids had minimal carapace, shells like Dermochelyidae, leatherback turtles of modern times. Anatomy As some of the first sea turtle, marine turtles, the protostegids set the general body plan for future species of sea turtles. They had a generally depressed turtle body plan, complete with four limbs, a short tail, and a large head at the end of a relatively short neck. Like other sea turtles, they possessed oar-like front appendages especially evolved for swimming in the open ocean. Similar to the still-extant taxon, extant, possibly closely related Dermochelyidae, protostegids possessed extremely reduced carapaces. Some specimens had skeletal protrusio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leatherback Sea Turtle
The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights of . It is the only living species in the genus ''Dermochelys'' and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named. Taxonomy and evolution Taxonomy ''Dermochelys coriacea'' is the only species in genus ''Dermochelys''. The genus, in turn, contains the only extant member of the family Dermochelyidae. Domenico Agostino Vandelli named the species first in 1761 as ''Testudo coriacea'' after an animal captured at Ostia and donated to the University of Padua by Pope Clement XIII. In 1816, French zoologist Henri Blainville coined the term ''Dermochelys''. The leatherback was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
