''Plesiochelys'' is a genus of late

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

European and Asian turtle. The type species is ''Plesiochelys etalloni''. Fossil records have discovered ''Plesiochelys bigleri'' and ''Plesiochelys etalloni'' from the

Kimmeridge Clay The Kimmeridge Clay is a sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Late Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous age and occurs in southern and eastern England and in the North Sea. This rock formation is the major source rock for Nor ...

of England and outside the Swiss and French Jura Mountains. A recent studyEvers, S. W., & Benson, R. B. (2019). A new phylogenetic hypothesis of turtles with implications for the timing and number of evolutionary transitions to marine lifestyles in the group. ''Palaeontology'', 62(1), 93-134. placed ''Plesiochelys'' as an

Angolachelonia Angolachelonia is a clade of extinct turtles from the Late Jurassic to Paleogene of Eurasia. The group is defined as all taxa derived from the ancestor of the type genus ''Angolachelys'' and ''Solnhofia'', a definition that could potentially ...

and outside

Testudines Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

References

Sources

*Gaffney, Eugene S. "A taxonomic revision of the Jurassic turtles Portlandemys and Plesiochelys. ''American Museum Novitates''; no. 2574." (1975). *Anquetin, J., & Chapman, S. D. "First report of Plesiochelys etalloni and Tropidemys langii from the Late Jurassic of the UK and the palaeobiogeography of plesiochelyid turtles. Royal Society Open Science." (2016).

External links

* Late Jurassic reptiles of Europe Plesiochelyidae Late Jurassic turtles Late Jurassic reptiles of Asia Fossil taxa described in 1837 {{paleo-turtle-stub