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Plesiochelys
Taxonomy
Plesiochelys was named by Rütimeyer (1873) [Sepkoski's age data: J Kimm Sepkoski's reference number: 1066]. Its type is Plesiochelys solodurensis.
It was assigned to Chelyidae by Portis (1878); to Chelonia by Sepkoski (2002); to Xinjiangchelyidae by Matzke et al. (2004); to Plesiochelydiae by Milner (2004); to Pancryptodira by Danilov and Parham (2008); to Testudines by Anquetin et al. (2009); to Testudines by Pérez-García and Murelaga (2013); to Eucryptodira by Joyce (2007), Mateus et al. (2009) and Puntener et al. (2014); to Testudinata by Perea et al. (2014); and to Plesiochelyidae by Lydekker (1889), Hay (1902), Delair (1958), Yeh (1963), Bräm (1965), Gaffney (1975), Weems (1988), Carroll (1988), Lapparent de Broin et al. (1996), Pérez-García et al. (2008), Anquetin (2012), Anquetin et al. (2014), Anquetin et al. (2014), Anquetin et al. (2015), Anquetin and Chapman (2016), Anquetin et al. (2017), Puntener et al. (2017) and Pérez-Garcia and Ortega (2021).
It was assigned to Chelyidae by Portis (1878); to Chelonia by Sepkoski (2002); to Xinjiangchelyidae by Matzke et al. (2004); to Plesiochelydiae by Milner (2004); to Pancryptodira by Danilov and Parham (2008); to Testudines by Anquetin et al. (2009); to Testudines by Pérez-García and Murelaga (2013); to Eucryptodira by Joyce (2007), Mateus et al. (2009) and Puntener et al. (2014); to Testudinata by Perea et al. (2014); and to Plesiochelyidae by Lydekker (1889), Hay (1902), Delair (1958), Yeh (1963), Bräm (1965), Gaffney (1975), Weems (1988), Carroll (1988), Lapparent de Broin et al. (1996), Pérez-García et al. (2008), Anquetin (2012), Anquetin et al. (2014), Anquetin et al. (2014), Anquetin et al. (2015), Anquetin and Chapman (2016), Anquetin et al. (2017), Puntener et al. (2017) and Pérez-Garcia and Ortega (2021).
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1831 | Emys hugi Gray |
| 1831 | Emys hugii Gray |
| 1831 | Emys trionychoides Gray |
| 1831 | Emys hugi Gray p. 33 |
| 1831 | Emys hugii Gray p. 33 |
| 1831 | Emys trionychoides Gray p. 33 |
| 1834 | Emys jurensis Keferstein |
| 1835 | Clemmys grayi Fitzinger |
| 1873 | Plesiochelys Rütimeyer p. 48 |
| 1878 | Plesiochelys minor Portis p. 12 figs. Plate 2, fig. 8 |
| 1878 | Plesiochelys Portis p. 18 |
| 1889 | Plesiochelys Lydekker |
| 1889 | Stegochelys Lydekker p. 229 |
| 1902 | Plesiochelys Hay p. 439 |
| 1958 | Plesiochelys Delair p. 51 |
| 1958 | Stegochelys Delair p. 55 |
| 1963 | Plesiochelys Yeh |
| 1965 | Plesiochelys Bräm p. 29 |
| 1975 | Plesiochelys Gaffney pp. 5-6 |
| 1988 | Plesiochelys Carroll |
| 1988 | Plesiochelys Weems p. 141 figs. Table 2 |
| 1996 | Plesiochelys Lapparent de Broin et al. p. 557 |
| 2002 | Plesiochelys Sepkoski |
| 2004 | Plesiochelys Matzke et al. pp. 1294-1295 |
| 2004 | Plesiochelys Milner p. 1460 |
| 2007 | Plesiochelys Joyce |
| 2008 | Plesiochelys Danilov and Parham |
| 2008 | Plesiochelys Pérez-García et al. |
| 2009 | Plesiochelys Anquetin et al. |
| 2009 | Plesiochelys Mateus et al. |
| 2012 | Plesiochelys Anquetin p. 28 fig. 10 |
| 2013 | Plesiochelys Pérez-García and Murelaga |
| 2014 | Plesiochelys Anquetin et al. |
| 2014 | Plesiochelys Anquetin et al. |
| 2014 | Plesiochelys Perea et al. |
| 2014 | Plesiochelys Puntener et al. |
| 2015 | Plesiochelys Anquetin et al. |
| 2016 | Plesiochelys Anquetin and Chapman |
| 2017 | Plesiochelys Anquetin et al. |
| 2017 | Plesiochelys Puntener et al. |
| 2021 | Plesiochelys Pérez-Garcia and Ortega |
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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. †Plesiochelys Rütimeyer 1873
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†Plesiochelys bigleri Puntener et al. 2017
†Plesiochelys etalloni Pictet and Humbert 1857
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Invalid names: Plesiochelys langii Rütimeyer 1873 [synonym], Plesiochelys sanctaeverenae Rütimeyer 1873 [synonym], Plesiochelys solodurensis Rütimeyer 1873 [synonym], Stylemys hannoverana Maack 1869 [synonym]
†Plesiochelys kwanganensis Yeh 1963
†Plesiochelys normandicus Bergounioux 1937
†Plesiochelys oshanensis Yeh 1973
†Plesiochelys planiceps Owen 1842
Invalid names: Clemmys grayi Fitzinger 1835 [nomen oblitum], Emys hugi Gray 1831 [nomen oblitum], Emys hugii Gray 1831 [nomen oblitum], Emys jurensis Keferstein 1834 [nomen oblitum], Emys trionychoides Gray 1831 [nomen oblitum], Plesiochelys minor Portis 1878 [nomen dubium], Stegochelys Lydekker 1889 [synonym]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| E. S. Gaffney 1975 | Member of the Plesiochelyidae (sensu Gaffney, present paper) known from skull, shell, and appendicular elements; foramen palatinum posterius open posteroventrally due to absence of medial process of jugal, anteroposterior length of premaxillae shorter than in Portlandemys, angle between labial ridges (of maxillae and lower jaws) more obtuse than in Portlandemys, median channel between lingual ridges of palate wider in comparison with Portlandemys; length of lower jaw symphysis shorter than in Portlandemys, symphyseal hook absent; prootic process extending anteroventrally to meet expanded processus clinoideus. Carapace oval, nuchal bone indented anteriorly, pygal bone without posterior indentation seen in Eurysternum, two suprapygal bones and six to eight neural bones present; pair of small accessory scutes usually lateral to nuchal (cervical) scute, vertebral scutes wider than in Tropidemys, supramarginal scutes absent. Plastron with or without one or two median fontanelles, mesoplastral bones absent; paired intergular scutes usually extending onto entoplastron, completely separating gular scutes and sometimes partially separating humeral scutes; four or five inframarginal scutes present. Dorsal surface of xiphiplastron with facet for seemingly movable articulation with pubis, sutural attachment between shell and pelvis absent; scapula with neck and coracoid moderately enlarged as in other chelonioids, angle between head and shaft of humerus 117-128 degrees (Bram, 1965). | |
| J. Anquetin et al. 2017 | Plesiochelys can be diagnosed as a “plesiochelyid” by the full list of characters provided above for that group. Based on cranial anatomy, Plesiochelys is currently differentiated from Portlandemys by a proportionally broader skull, a more obtuse angle between the labial ridges of maxilla and dentary, placement of the foramina anterius canalis carotici cerebralis closer to the level of the dorsum sellae, and a shorter mandibular symphysis. Based on shell anatomy, Plesiochelys is currently differentiated from Craspedochelys by a more elongated and oval carapace, a deeper nuchal notch, a lower length/width ratio of the costal bones (3.1–3.6, as opposed to 4.3–4.8 or more for costal IV), a relatively long plastron (about 85% to 90% of the carapace length), and a hyoplastron longer than wide and from Tropidemys by the absence of a neural keel, elongated neural bones, and wider vertebral scutes. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: c = class, subp = subphylum, uc = unranked clade | |||||
| References: Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009 | |||||
Age range: base of the Callovian to the top of the Late/Upper Hauterivian or 166.10000 to 130.00000 Ma
Collections (29 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Jurassic | China (Yunnan) | P. oshanensis (49502) | |
| Callovian | Kyrgyzstan (Jalal-Abad) | P. sp. (37596) | |
| Late/Upper Jurassic | China | P. kwanganensis (195440) | |
| Kimmeridgian | Poland (Zachodniopomorskie) | P. sp. (163141) | |
| Kimmeridgian | Switzerland (Jura) | P. bigleri (154713 200138) P. sp., P. etalloni, P. bigleri (154715 154716) | |
| Kimmeridgian | Switzerland (Berne) | P. etalloni (137800) | |
| Kimmeridgian - Early/Lower Tithonian | United Kingdom (England) | P. etalloni (140709) | |
| Kimmeridgian - Tithonian | Spain (Aragón) | P. sp. (58763) | |
| Early/Lower Kimmeridgian | Germany (Lower Saxony) | P. hannoverana, P. minor (138029) P. solodurensis (24127) | |
| Late/Upper Kimmeridgian | Switzerland (Jura) | P. bigleri (149745) P. sp., P. etalloni, P. bigleri (154714) | |
| Late/Upper Kimmeridgian | Switzerland (Solothurn) | P. solodurensis (90875) P. solodurensis, P. langii, P. sanctaverenae, Emys hugi, Emys hugii, Emys trionychoides, Emys jurensis, P. etalloni, Thalassemys moseri (137749) | |
| Late/Upper Kimmeridgian | France (Aquitaine) | P. hannoverana (94532) | |
| Tithonian | Portugal (Torres Verdes) | P. sp. (219477) | |
| Tithonian | Portugal (Torres Verdas) | P. sp. (219478) | |
| Tithonian | France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) | P. sp. (53967) | |
| Tithonian | United Kingdom (England) | Chelone planiceps (137747) | |
| Early/Lower Tithonian | France (Jura) | P. etalloni (137799) | |
| Late/Upper Tithonian | United Kingdom (England) | Stegochelys planiceps (119505) | |
| Middle Tithonian - Late/Upper Tithonian | Portugal (Centro) | P. sp. (184944) | |
| Late/Upper Tithonian - Early/Lower Berriasian | France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) | P. sp. (92144 92145) | |
| Berriasian | United Kingdom (England) | P. sp. (92916) | |
| Late/Upper Hauterivian | United Kingdom (England) | P. sp. (22700) |