Carettochelyidae is a family of cryptodiran turtles belonging to the

Trionychia Trionychia is a superfamily of turtles which encompasses the species that are commonly referred to as softshelled turtles as well as some others. The group contains two families, Carettochelyidae, which has only one living species, the pig-nosed ...

. It contains only a single living species, the pig-nosed turtle (''Carettochelys insculpta'') native to New Guinea and Northern Australia. Stem-group carettochelyids are known from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

of Asia, with the family being widely distributed across North America, Europe and Asia during the

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...

Taxonomy

After Joyce, 2014 unless otherwise noted. * Stem group taxa (also known as Pan-''Carettochelys'' Joyce, Parham and Gauthier 2004) * '' Kizylkumemys'' Nessov, 1976 ** ''Kizylkumemys khoratensis'' Tong et al., 2005

Khok Kruat Formation The Khok Kruat Formation () is a rock formation found in northeastern Thailand. It is the uppermost formation of the Khorat Group. It is dated to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, and is notable for its fossils of dinosaurs. It is ...

, Thailand, Early Cretaceous (

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ag ...

) ** ''Kizylkumemys schultzi'' Nessov, 1976

Khodzhakul Formation The Khodzhakul Formation is a Cenomanian aged geologic formation in Uzbekistan. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel, et al., 2004, "Dinosaur distribution." pp.517-607 As well as those of ...

, Uzbekistan, Late Cretaceous (

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in ...

) * Indeterminate fragments of stem-Carretochelyids are also known from the Cenomanian aged

Bayan Shireh Formation The Bayan Shireh Formation (also known as Baynshiree/Baynshire, Baynshirenskaya Svita or Baysheen Shireh) is a geological formation in Mongolia, that dates to the Cretaceous period. It was first described and established by Vasiliev et al. 195 ...

, Mongolia * Carettochelyidae Gill, 1889 ** '' Anosteira'' Leidy, 1871 *** ''Anosteira manchuriana'' Zangerl, 1947 Liaoning, China, late

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...

*** ''Anosteira maomingensis'' Chow and Liu, 1955 Youkanwo Formation, Guangdong, China, Late Eocene *** ''Anosteira mongoliensis'' Gilmore, 1931 Inner Mongolia, China, Late Eocene-

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...

*** ''Anosteira ornata'' Leidy, 1871

Bridger Formation The Bridger Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern Wyoming. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ypresian Epoch of the Paleogene Period. The formation was named by American geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden for Fort Bridger, whic ...

, Wyoming, USA, Early Eocene *** ''Anosteira pulchra'' (Clark, 1932) Uinta Formation, Utah, USA, Middle Eocene (

Lutetian The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the ...

) ** An indeterminate carettochelyid is also known from the Early Eocene (Lutetian) aged Kuldana Formation,

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

, Pakistan given the name ''Chorlakkichelys shahi'' Broin, 1987 ** Carettochelyinae Williams, 1950 *** ''

Allaeochelys ''Allaeochelys'' is an extinct genus of Carettochelyid turtle, known from the Eocene to Miocene of Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. Fossils of the species ''Allaeochelys crassesculpta'' have been found in the Messel Pit near Darmstadt, Ge ...

'' Noulet, 1867 **** ''Allaeochelys crassesculpta'' (Harrassowitz, 1922) Messel Pit, Germany, Early Eocene **** ''Allaeochelys delheidi'' (Dollo, 1886) Brussels Formation, Belgium, Zamora, Spain, Early Eocene Headon Hill Formation, England, Late Eocene (

Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage ...

) **** ''Allaeochelys libyca'' Havlik et al, 2014,

Al Wahat District Al Wahat or The Oases ( ar, الواحات ', en, The Oases), occasionally spelt ''Al Wahad'' or ''Al Wahah'' ( en, The Oasis) is one of the districts of Libya.''Statesman's Yearbook 2006'' Its capital and largest city is Ajdabiya. The district ...

, Libya, middle

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 recen ...

(

Langhian The Langhian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, an age or stage in the middle Miocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma and 13.65 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago) during the Middle Miocene.GeoWhen (2007) The Langhian was ...

) **** ''Allaeochelys lingnanica'' (Young and Chow, 1962)

Shaoguan Shaoguan (; Hakka: Seukoan) is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province ( Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriar ...

, Guangdong, China early

(possibly

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pala ...

) **** ''Allaeochelys magnifica'' (=''Burmemys magnifica'' Hutchison et al., 2004) Pandaung Formation, Myanmar, Late Eocene ( Bartonian) **** ''Allaeochelys parayrei'' Noulet, 1867 Tarn,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

, France, Late Eocene (Bartonian) ****''Allaeochelys liliae'' Carbot-Chanona et al. 2020 Mazantic Shale, Chiapas, Mexico, Early Miocene ( Aquitanian) *** ''

Carettochelys The pig-nosed turtle (''Carettochelys insculpta''), also known as the pitted-shelled turtle or Fly River turtle, is a species of turtle native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is the only living member of the family Carettochel ...

'' Ramsay, 1886 Northern Australia, New Guinea, Recent *** Indeterminate carettochelyids are also known from the uppermost Miocene to lowermost

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Trionychia Turtle families