Where: Xingjiang, China (42.9° N, 90.5° E: paleocoordinates 42.4° N, 96.6° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Qigu Formation, Late/Upper Oxfordian to Late/Upper Oxfordian (161.2 - 152.1 Ma)

• The Flaming Mountains consist of Triassic to Paleogene sediments that were uplifted during the Neogene. Published reports on the geology and stratigraphy of the Flaming Mountains in particular and the Turpan Basin in general are rare and many uncertainties therefore exist regarding the absolute age of formations and their correlation with similar units in other Central Asian basins. Jurassic clastic strata in the Flaming Mountains were preliminarily divided into the Early Jurassic Sangonghe Formation, the Middle Jurassic Xishanyao, Sanjianfang, Qiketai, and Qigu Formations (the latter was recently dated in the Junggar Basin with 164.6 Ma ± 1.4 Ma), and the Late Jurassic Karaza Formation

•See Fang et al. 2015

Environment/lithology: fluvial; lithified, fine-grained sandstone

Size class: macrofossils

Collection methods: quarrying, surface (in situ), mechanical,

• Our description of Xinjiangchelys wusu n. sp. is based on a sandstone slab with at least 3 individuals (Figure 2) that were excavated during the 2011 joint field season of the University of Tübingen, Shenyang Normal University, and Jilin University, that was lead and carried out by all coauthors at the Turtle Cliff Fossil Site (see Geological Settings). The quarried fossils are currently housed at the Paleontology Museum of Liaoning (PMOL) at Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, Liaoning but will eventually be integrated into the municipal museum of Shanshan, Xinjiang Autonomous Province that is currently under construction. All specimens have been assigned a combined PMOL-Sino-German Cooperation Project (SGP) number, which will be deposited with the specimens once the museum in Shanshan is operational. The detailed coordinates of the locality are archived at PMOL and will be disclosed to qualified researchers interested in studying the site.

Primary reference: M. Rabi, C.-F. Zhou, O. Wings, S. Ge, and W. G. Joyce. 2013. A new xinjiangchelyid turtle from the Middle Jurassic of Xinjiang, China and the evolution of the basipterygoid process in Mesozoic turtles. BMC Evolutionary Biology 13(203):1-28 [D. Nicholson/D. Nicholson]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 154095: authorized by David Nicholson, entered by David Nicholson on 27.01.2014

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)