PBDB Taxon

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Taphrosphys

Reptilia - Testudines

Taxonomy

Taphrosphys was named by Cope (1869). Its type is Platemys sulcatus.

It was assigned to Podocnemididae by Cope (1870); to Pelomedusinae by Zangerl (1948); to Bothremydinae by Gaffney (1975); to Pelomedusidae by Lydekker (1889), Hay (1902), Miller (1967), Wood (1975), Weems (1988) and Carroll (1988); to Taphrosphyina by Gaffney et al. (2006); and to Bothremydidae by Hay (1908), Hay (1930), Lapparent de Broin and Werner (1998) and de la Fuente et al. (2014).

Species

T. congolensis, T. ippolitoi, T. nodosus, T. strenuus (syn. Prochonias princeps), T. sulcatus (syn. Amblypeza antellius, T. leslianus, T. molops, Prochonias longinuchus, T. enodis)

Synonyms

Amblypeza was named by Hay (1908). Its type is Amblypeza entellus.

It was synonymized subjectively with Taphrosphys by Gaffney et al. (2006).

It was assigned to Bothremydidae by Hay (1908) and Hay (1930); and to Pelomedusinae by Zangerl (1948).
Prochonias was named by Cope (1869).

It was synonymized subjectively with Taphrosphys by Hay (1902), Hay (1908), Gaffney (1975) and Gaffney et al. (2006).
Bantuchelys was named by Dollo (1924).

It was synonymized subjectively with Taphrosphys by Gaffney et al. (2006).

It was assigned to Pelomedusidae by Antunes (1964).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1869	Prochonias Cope
1869	Taphrosphys Cope
1870	Taphrosphys Cope p. 156
1889	Taphrosphys Lydekker p. 174
1902	Taphrosphys Hay p. 438
1908	Taphrosphys Hay p. 104
1908	Amblypeza Hay p. 122
1924	Bantuchelys Dollo
1930	Taphrosphys Hay p. 74
1930	Amblypeza Hay p. 75
1948	Taphrosphys Zangerl p. 42
1948	Amblypeza Zangerl p. 48
1964	Bantuchelys Antunes p. 135
1967	Taphrosphys Miller p. 225
1975	Taphrosphys Gaffney p. 2
1975	Taphrosphys Wood
1988	Taphrosphys Carroll
1988	Taphrosphys Weems p. 113
1998	Taphrosphys Lapparent de Broin and Werner p. 41
2006	Taphrosphys Gaffney et al. p. 91
2014	Taphrosphys de la Fuente et al.

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda

Rank	Name	Author
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
—	Sauropsida
class	Reptilia
—	Testudinata	(Oppel 1811)
order	Testudines	Batsch 1788
suborder	Pleurodira
—	Bothremydidae	(Baur 1891)
genus	Taphrosphys

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. †Taphrosphys Cope 1869

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†Taphrosphys congolensis Dollo 1912

†Taphrosphys ippolitoi Gaffney et al. 2006

†Taphrosphys nodosus Cope 1870

†Taphrosphys strenuus Cope 1870

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Invalid names: Prochonias princeps Cope 1869 [synonym]

†Taphrosphys sulcatus Leidy 1856

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Invalid names: Amblypeza antellius Hay 1908 [synonym], Prochonias longinuchus Cope 1870 [synonym], Taphrosphys enodis Cope 1870 [synonym], Taphrosphys leslianus Cope 1870 [synonym], Taphrosphys molops Cope 1870 [synonym]

Invalid names: Amblypeza Hay 1908 [synonym], Bantuchelys Dollo 1924 [synonym], Prochonias Cope 1869 [synonym]

Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
O. P. Hay 1908	A genus of pleurodirid turtles known only from the shell. Carapace with y neurals, the costals of the seventh and eighth pairs meeting their fellows at the midline; a large suprapygal; and 1 1 pairs of peripherals, the posterior thin and with acute free borders. No nuchal scute. Plastron with 1 1 bones, the mesoplastrals small and well out on the bridges. A single intergular almost wholly confined to the entoplastron. Hinder lobe with large notch. Large pits in the first and the fifth costals for the axillary and inguinal buttresses. Ilium firmly articulated with the carapace at the junction of the seventh and eighth costals. Ischium and pubis articulated to the xiphiplastron.
O. P. Hay 1908 (Amblypeza)	A genus of pleurodirid turtles which differs from Taphrosphys in having the nuchal bone shorter and its front relatively broader and in having the free borders of the hinder peripherals thick and obtuse. Apparently a nuchal scute was present.
E. S. Gaffney 1975	(Based on shell criteria only, cranial features will be described in a later paper.) Pleurodire known from skull and postcranium. Carapace oval, broader posteriorly, no nuchal notch; 7 neurals, costals 7 and 8 meeting at midline. Eleven pairs of peripherals, mostly with acute free edges but varying to obtuse in bridge region. No nuchal (cervical) scale, first marginal scale about equidimensional, pleural scales extending well onto peripheral bones. Anterior lobe of plastron short, broad, and rounded; posterior lobe broad in constrast to Podocnemis expansa and possessing a semicircular xiphiplastral notch. Large entoplastron; mesoplastra small and extending well onto bridge; pubic scar long and narrow, ischiac scar round and near edge of xiphiplastron. Intergular scute large, separating small gulars, humerals, and part of pectorals. Scapula, humerus, femur and pelvis essentially as in Podocnemis; coracoid curved and flaring distally; ungual phalanges broad and flat.
R. C. Wood 1975	Carapace oval, broadest in region of inguinal notch, moderately arched in cross-section ; seven neurals in uninterupted. sequence beginning immediately behind nuchal ; seventh and eighth pairs of pleurals meeting in midline between last neural and suprapygal. Anterior plastral lobe short and broad; posterior lobe broad, approximately twice as long (from inguinal notch to xiphiplastraI tips) as anterior lobe; entoplastron broader than long; broad, low ridge on visceral surface of either side of posterior lobe extending parallel to lateral border from inguinal notch nearly to postero-Iateral comer of pubic scar; ischial scars small, not meeting in midline, "cry close to edge of anal not ch; pubic scars long and narrow; external surface of shell covered with anastomosing vermiculations; intergular large, intervining between both gulars and humerals in midline; plastral formula : femoral > pectoral > intergular > anal > abdominal.
E. S. Gaffney et al. 2006	A bothremydid pleurodire of the tribe Taphrosphyini with these unique characters among aphrosphyini: pentagonal basisphenoid; foramen posterius canalis carotici interni formed by basisphenoid, pterygoid, and quadrate; sulcus eustachii with dorsal and ventral process; sulcus eustachii opens more ventrally than in any other Taphrosphyini; other differentiating characters: narrow jugal, as in Labrostochelys and in contrast to Phosphatochelys and Azabbaremys; squamosal with vertical flange, as in Labrostochelys and Phosphatochelys in contrast to Azabbaremys; skull length to height about intermediate between Labrostochelys and Azabbaremys; triturating surfaces a curved trough, as in Labrostochelys and in contrast to all other Taphrosphyini; labial ridge on maxilla thin, as in Labrostochelys and in contrast to all other Taphrosphyini; palate not dorsally arched; posteroventrally opening pocket on posterior surface of quadrate, as in Labrostochelys and in contrast to all other Taphrosphyini; ventrally opening channel at back of skull, as in Labrostochelys; condylus mandibularis well anterior to condylus occipitalis, as in Labrostochelys; fossa pterygoidea absent.