| Basic info | Taxonomic history | Classification | Included Taxa |
| Morphology | Ecology and taphonomy | External Literature Search | Age range and collections |
Elkanemys
Etymology. Elkan refers to something that had been hidden in
mapundungun, language spoken by the Mapuche people in Patagonia. This refers to the long time the specimen spent deposited in the Museo Ernesto Bachmann collection (since the 1990s) before being recognized as a new taxon of a clade that still not present in Patagonia horizons until the description of it. Emys means to turtle in Ancient Greek.
It was assigned to Cearachelyini by Maniel et al. (2021); and to Podocnemidoidae by Sarda and Maniel (2025).
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Elkanemys Maniel et al. |
| 2025 | Elkanemys Sarda and Maniel |
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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.
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| M. Sarda and I. J. Maniel 2025 | Elkanemys can be diagnosed as a pelomedusoid pleurodire by the suturing of the pelvic girdle to the shell, the presence of rounded and equidimensional mesoplastra, the absence of nasal bones, and the presence of a quadratojugal. Elkanemys is defined by a combination of characteristics, the participation of the jugal in the orbital margin, the absence of a maxillaquadratojugal contact, and a ventrolateral emargination reaching above the ventral level of the orbit, in contrast to Bothremydidae Cearachelyini; and in contrast to Portezueloemys, a six sided neural 1 with short posterolateral margins, a quadrangular neural 2, a carapace that is flat and wider posteriorly, a wider skull, orbits oriented posteriorly and dorsally, a shorter snout, shorter frontals, more participation of the prefrontals in the orbit, an interparietal scute shaped like an equilateral triangle, pectorals entering mesoplastra, and the anterior and posterior plastral lobes equal in size. |
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| Source: subo = suborder, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Uetz 2005, Kiessling 2004, Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009 | |||||
Age range: base of the Early/Lower Cenomanian to the top of the Early/Lower Coniacian or 100.50000 to 85.70000 Ma
Collections (2 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early/Lower Cenomanian | Argentina (Río Negro) | E. pritchardi (219994) | |
| Late/Upper Turonian - Early/Lower Coniacian | Argentina (Neuquén) | E. caelestis (79953) |