''Kallokibotion'' is an extinct genus of stem-turtle from the Upper Cretaceous ( Maastrichtian, 86–66 million years ago), known from fossils found in Romania. One species is known, ''Kallokibotion bajazidi'', which was named by

Franz Nopcsa Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...

after his lover

Bajazid Doda Bajazid Elmaz Doda (1888–1933) was an Albanian ethnographic writer and photographer. He is the author of the book ''Albanisches Bauerleben im oberen Rekatal bei Dibra (Makedonien) (Albanian Peasant Life in the Upper Reka Valley near Dibra (Mace ...

. It literally means beautiful box of Bajazid'''; Nopcsa chose the name because, in the words of British palaeontologist Gareth Dyke, "the shape of the shell reminded him of Bajazid's arse". A second undescribed species is known from the

Santonian The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 86.3 ± 0.7 mya (million years ago) and 83.6 ± 0.7 mya. The ...

of Hungary.

Description

''Kallokibotion'' reached in carapace length. There are jagged ornaments on its shell.

Taxonomy

A fossil of this turtle was mistakenly described as a pterosaur of the genus '' Thalassodromeus'' in 2014. In 1992, it was identified as a basal

cryptodire The Cryptodira ('' el, hidden neck'') are a suborder of Testudines that includes most living tortoises and turtles. Cryptodira differ from Pleurodira (side-necked turtles) in that they lower their necks and pull the heads straight back into the ...

, and as a

meiolaniid Meiolaniidae is an extinct family of large, probably herbivorous stem-group turtles with heavily armored heads and tails known from South America and Australasia. Though once believed to be cryptodires, they are not closely related to any living ...

in the early 2010's. Later phylogenetic analysis based on characters described from new specimens places ''Kallokibotion'' as the sister taxon of the crown testudines. A 2021 analysis placed ''Kallokibotion'' in

Compsemydidae __NOTOC__ Paracryptodira is an extinct group of reptiles in the clade Testudinata (which contains modern turtles and their extinct relatives), known from the Jurassic to Paleogene of North America and Europe. Initially treated as a suborder si ...

within Paracryptodira.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16568526 Late Cretaceous reptiles of Europe Testudinata Fossil taxa described in 1923 Prehistoric reptile genera Taxa named by Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás