| Basic info | Taxonomic history | Classification | Included Taxa |
| Morphology | Ecology and taphonomy | External Literature Search | Age range and collections |
Carettochelys niahensis
Discussion
The species name refers to the type locality, the Niah Great Cave in Sarawak.
Taxonomy
Carettochelys niahensis was named by White et al. (2023). Its type specimen is SM cb 2.9.a, a partial skull (upper third of an intact, adult skull), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Niah Great Cave, which is in a Pleistocene/Holocene cave horizon in Malaysia.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Carettochelys niahensis White et al. |
Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data
|
|
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.
†Carettochelys niahensis White et al. 2023
show all | hide all
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| A. W. White et al. 2023 | Carettochelys niahensis is distinguished from Carettochelys insculpta (Figs 5–6), the only other species in the genus, as follows. Carettochelys niahensis has a relatively flat skull (Figs 1 and 5B) in contrast to the skull of C. insculpta (Fig. 5A), which is steeply angled from the orbit back. In C. niahensis, the frontal bones are wider than the prefrontals along the mid-line, and the post-orbitals lie mainly in the dorsal plane, whereas in C. insculpta, they lie mainly in the lateral plane. The frontals also make a broader contribution to the orbit. The ventral ridge of the frontals (crista cranii) forms a broad contact with the pre-frontal, such that the contact area forms a vertical sheet of bone that almost completely ossifies the medial wall of the orbit, this feature being much more pronounced than in C. inscultpa. There is also a foramen present between the posteroventral process of the pre-frontal and the crista cranii. Unlike in C. insculpta, this foramen appears to provide a direct connection between the orbit and the nasal cavity. The parietals are not raised and are scarcely higher than the upper cranium (a narrow canal still exists, however, for the passage of the main external muscle for the lower jaw). The jugal is relatively large and square in contrast to the condition in C. insculpta where the jugal is smaller and rectangular in shape (see Fig. 5A). The jugal makes up most of the posterior wall of the orbit. The orbit is deeply recessed and there is a distinct maxillary ridge on the lower rim of the orbit. The ventral line of the maxilla is relatively straight, although there is a distinct notch immediately posterior to the premaxillary suture. In C. insculpta this suture is also present but there is an additional downwards curve on the maxilla below the orbit giving the maxilla a sinusoidal profile. The pre-frontal struts contacting the vomer are curved rather than almost straight as they are in C. insculpta (Fig. 5B). The top of the inner orbit is flat, unlike the condition in C. insculpta where the orbit is evenly rounded. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|||||
|
|
||||
| Source: f = family, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Uetz 2005, Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988 | |||||
Age range: base of the Late/Upper Pleistocene to the top of the Holocene or 0.12900 to 0.00000 Ma
Collections: one only
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene | Malaysia | Carettochelys niahensis (type locality: 192522) |