''Bothremys'' is an extinct
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
bothremydid pleurodiran turtle that was discovered near
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.
[Leidy, J., 1865 "Cretaceous reptiles of the United States." Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge 192:1-135 https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.39830] The genus consists of type species ''B. cooki'', ''B. arabicus'', ''B. kellyi'', and ''B. maghrebiana''.
Discovery
The holotype of ''Bothremys'' was discovered in the greensand formations near Gloucester Township, New Jersey. It consists of a partially-complete skull and a lower jaw.
Description
In Leidy's 1865 description, he notes that the skull lacks the auditory passages, zygomatic arches, and some other minor bones. The lower jaw completely lacks the condyloid joint, which had apparently been destroyed. The top of the skull is nearly flat, with a slight forward incline. The orbits are relatively small, facing outwards and forwards. A deep conical pit occupies each maxilla, which led Leidy to suggest the presence of a tooth-like protuberance. The orbit are separated from the temporal process by a bony "wall" composed of sections of several different skull bones.
References
Prehistoric turtle genera
Late Cretaceous turtles of North America
Bothremydidae
Maastrichtian life
Paleocene turtles
Fossil taxa described in 1865
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