''Toxochelys'' () is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of marine turtle from the Late Cretaceous period. It is the most commonly found fossilized turtle species in the

Smoky Hill Chalk The Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk formation is a Cretaceous conservation Lagerstätte, or fossil rich geological formation, known primarily for its exceptionally well-preserved marine reptiles. Named for the Smoky Hill River, the S ...

, in western

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Description

''Toxochelys'' was about 2 m (6 ft) in length. Two species in the genus are recognized, ''Toxochelys latiremis'' and ''Toxochelys moorevillensis''.

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis shows that ''Toxochelys'' belong to an extinct lineage of turtles transitional between modern

sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...

and other turtles. ''Toxochelys bauri'' Williston, 1905, based on the skeleton YPM 1786, is a synonym of '' Ctenochelys stenoporus''.R. Zangerl. 1953. The vertebrate fauna of the Selma Formation of Alabama. Part IV. The turtles of the family Toxochelyidae. ''Fieldiana: Geology Memoirs'' 3(4):145–277.

References

*Cope, E. D. 1873. n ''Toxochelys latiremis'' ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 25:10. *Hay, O. P. 1896. On the skeleton of ''Toxochelys latiremis''. ''Publ. Field Columbian Museum, Zoological Ser''. (later ''Fieldiana: Zoology''), 1(5):101–106, pls. 14 &15. *Case, E.C. 1898. ''Toxochelys''. The University Geological Survey of Kansas, Part IV. 4:370–385. pls. 79–84. *Hay, O.P. 1905. A revision of the species of the family of fossil turtles called Toxochelyidae, with descriptions of two new species of ''Toxochelys'' and a new species of ''Porthochelys''. ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' 21(10):177–185. *Druckenmiller, P. S., A. J. Daun, J. L. Skulan and J. C. Pladziewicz. 1993. Stomach contents in the upper Cretaceous shark ''Squalicorax falcatus''. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology''. 13(supplement. to no. 3):33A. *Carrino, M.H. 2007. Taxonomic comparison and stratigraphic distribution of ''Toxochelys'' (Testudines: Cheloniidae) of South Dakota. pp. 111–132 in Martin, J.E. and Parris D.C. (eds.), ''The Geology and Paleontology of the Late Cretaceous Marine Deposits of the Dakotas''. Geological Society of America'', Special Paper 427. *Konuki, R. 2008. ''Biostratigraphy of sea turtles and possible bite marks on a'' Toxochelys ''(Testudine, Chelonioidea) from the Niobrara Formation (Late Santonian), Logan County, Kansas and paleoecological implications for predator–prey relationships among large marine vertebrates''. Unpublished Masters thesis, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, 141 pp, Appen. I-VI. *Matzke, A.T. 2008. A juvenile ''Toxochelys latiremis'' (Testudines, Cheloniidae) from the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Formation of Kansas, USA. ''Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie''. Abhandlungen 249(3):371–380. *Matzke, A.T. 2009. Osteology of the skull of ''Toxochelys'' (Testudines, Chelonioidea) (with 25 text-figures). ''Palaeontographica Abteilung'' A 288(4):93–150.

External links

www.scistp.org
Chelonioidea Late Cretaceous turtles of North America Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Fossil taxa described in 1873 Prehistoric turtle genera Mooreville Chalk Extinct turtles {{paleo-turtle-stub