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Macrochelys (alligator snapping turtle)

Reptilia - Testudines - Chelydridae

Taxonomy
Macrochelys was named by Gray (1856) [Webb (1995; reference # 50687) demonstrated that Macrochelys is the senior synonym of Macroclemys and both were published in 1856 (not 1855 as commonly stated) [Richard Hulbert, Apr. 2014]]. It is extant. Its type is Macroclemys temminckii. It was considered monophyletic by Thomas et al. (2014).

It was corrected as Macroclemys by Frank and Ramus (1996) and Anquetin et al. (2009).

It was assigned to Terrestria by Quenstedt (1882); to Testudines by Anquetin et al. (2009); to Chelydridae by Joyce (2016); and to Chelydridae by Cope (1875), Cope (1884), Hay (1908), Hay (1930), Whetstone (1978), Carroll (1988), Frank and Ramus (1996), Knauss et al. (2011), Thomas et al. (2014), van Dijk et al. (2014) and Rhodin et al. (2017).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1856Macrochelys Gray
1857Gypochelys Agassiz
1875Macrochelys Cope p. 52
1882Macrochelys Quenstedt p. 148
1884Macrochelys Cope
1908Macrochelys Hay p. 222
1930Macrochelys Hay p. 85
1978Macroclemys Whetstone p. 161
1988Macroclemys Carroll
1996Macroclemys Frank and Ramus
2009Macroclemys Anquetin et al.
2011Macrochelys Knauss et al.
2014Macrochelys Thomas et al.
2014Macrochelys van Dijk et al.
2016Macrochelys Joyce
2017Macrochelys Rhodin et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
RankNameAuthor
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
classReptilia
Testudinata(Oppel 1811)
orderTestudinesBatsch 1788
suborderCryptodira
familyChelydridae
genusMacrochelysGray 1856

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. Macrochelys Gray 1856 [alligator snapping turtle]
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Macrochelys auffenbergi Dobie 1968 [Auffenberg's snapping turtle]
Macrochelys schmidti Zangerl 1945
Macrochelys stricta Matthew 1924
Macrochelys suwanniensis Thomas et al. 2014 [Suwannee alligator snapping turtle]
Macrochelys temminckii Troost 1835 [Alligator snapping turtle]
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Invalid names: Gypochelys lacertina Agassiz 1857 [synonym], Macrochelys apalachicolae Thomas et al. 2014 [synonym]
Invalid names: Gypochelys Agassiz 1857 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
O. P. Hay 1908Three or four additional, or supramarginal, scutes on each side. Orbits lateral. Tail with small scales inferiorly (Boulenger).