Ctenochelys (meaning "comb tortoise") is an extinct genus of marine turtle (Cryptodira, Pancheloniidae), which existed during the Cretaceous period, and lived in the shallow waters of the Western Interior Seaway.[1] Its fossils have been found in the Ripley Formation and Mooreville Chalk of central Alabama, United States.[2] It was first named by C. H. Sternberg in 1904,[3] and contains two species, C. stenoporus[4] and C. acris.[5]
| Ctenochelys Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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| Ctenochelys stenoporus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Superfamily: | Chelonioidea |
| Family: | †Ctenochelyidae |
| Genus: | †Ctenochelys Zangerl, 1953 |
| Type species | |
| †C. stenoporus | |
| Species | |
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Species
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Ctenochelys stenoporus is the type species. It was originally thought to be a species of Toxochelys; T. bauri, until Sternberg declared it a separate genus.[3] The two genera are similar in carapaces.[1]
Ctenochelys acris was first named by Zangerl in 1953 and is now thought to be one of the earliest ancestors of modern cheloniids.[6]
Phylogeny
editCtenochelys in a cladogram from the analysis of Gentry et al., 2019:[7]
| Pan-Chelonioidea |
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References
edit- ^ a b Kear BP, Lee MS (March 2006). "A primitive protostegid from Australia and early sea turtle evolution". Biol. Lett. 2 (1): 116–9. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0406. PMC 1617175. PMID 17148342.
- ^ "Gary Kobylski, New Chair of MO–15 Board and State Conservationist in Alabama - Section "Things other than Dirt!"" (PDF). Charles Love, The Coastal Plainer. Fall 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ a b "Marine Turtles". Mike Everhart. 2004. Archived from the original on 2013-12-25. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ Matzke AT (2007). "An almost complete juvenile specimen of the Cheloniid turtle Ctenochelys Stenoporus (Hay, 1905) From the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara formation of Kansas, USA". Palaeontology. 50 (3): 669–91. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2007.00650.x.
- ^ Zangerl R (1953). "The vertebrate fauna of the Selma Formation of Alabama. Part IV. The turtles of the family Toxochelyidae". Fieldiana Geology Memoirs: 137–277.
- ^ Gentry AD (2016). "New material of the Late Cretaceous marine turtle Ctenochelys acris Zangerl, 1953 and a phylogenetic reassessment of the 'toxochelyid'-grade taxa". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 15 (8): 675–696. doi:10.1080/14772019.2016.1217087. S2CID 88758027.
- ^ Andrew D. Gentry; Jun A. Ebersole; Caitlin R. Kiernan (2019). "Asmodochelys parhami, a new fossil marine turtle from the Campanian Demopolis Chalk and the stratigraphic congruence of competing marine turtle phylogenies". Royal Society Open Science. 6 (12): Article ID 191950. Bibcode:2019RSOS....691950G. doi:10.1098/rsos.191950. PMC 6936288. PMID 31903219.
External links
edit- Paleobiology Database
- Big Brook Sea Turtle Page
- St. Catherine's Island Sea Turtle Conservation Program: Life History: Geologic History of Sea Turtles
- www.paleofile.com - Alphabetical list, Section C
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