Euclastes

Euclastes
E. platyops skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Division: Amniota
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Chelonioidea
Genus: Euclastes
Cope, 1867
Species
  • E. acutirostris
  • E. wielandi
  • E. platyops
  • E. gosseleti

Euclastes is an extinct genus of sea turtle. It was first named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1867, and contains three species. E. hutchisoni, was named in 2003 but has since been reassigned to the genus Pacifichelys,[1] while 'E. coahuilaensis' named in 2009 was reassigned as Mexichelys coahuilaensis in 2010[2][3]

Description

Unlike the sea turtles Toxochelys and Eochelone, Euclastes has a secondary palate. However, the secondary palate of Euclastes is not as extensive as it is in Ctenochelys. The genus can be distinguished by later sea turtles based on its broad, low skull; broad, flat palate; wide, flat dentary bone with an elongated symphysis; and low tomial ridge on the beak. The widened palate and dentaries give Eochelone wide, flat jaws suitable for crushing hard-shelled organisms.[1]

Classification

Species

Phylogeny

Cladogram based on Lynch and Parham (2003)[1] and Parham and Pyenson (2010):[5]

Cheloniidae sensu lato 

Toxochelys




Mexichelys




Lophochleyinae




Euclastes




Argillochelys



Eochelone





Erquelinnesla



Pacifichelys





Puppigerus



Cheloniidae sensu stricto









References

  1. 1 2 3 Lynch, S.C.; Parham, J.F. (2003). "The first report of hard-shelled sea turtles (Cheloniidae sensu lato) from the Miocene of California, including a new species (Euclastes hutchisoni) with unusually plesiomorphic characters" (PDF). PaleoBios. 23 (3): 21–35.
  2. Euclastes coahuilaensis from the Paleobiology Database
  3. Exibidos fósseis de tartarugas com 72 mi de anos
  4. 1 2 3 "A Reassesment of the Referral of Sea Turtle Skulls to the Genus Osteopygis" (PDF). James F. Parham, University of California Museum of Paleontology; Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. March 2005. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  5. James F. Parham; Nicholas D. Pyenson (2010). "New Sea Turtle from the Miocene of Peru and the Iterative Evolution of Feeding Ecomorphologies since the Cretaceous". Journal of Paleontology. 84 (2): 231–247. doi:10.1666/09-077R.1.

External links

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