The Oldest African Eucryptodiran Turtle from the Cretaceous of Angola

Mateus, Octávio; Jacobs, Louis L.; Polcyn, Michael J.; Schulp, Anne S.; Vineyard, Diana P.; Neto, André Buta; Antunes, Miguel Telles

doi:10.4202/app.2008.0063

Cited by 34 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In a few studies, thalassochelydian turtles have been found to be closely related to Cretaceous turtles, in particular the Early Cretaceous protostegid Santanachelys gaffneyi Hirayama, 1998 and the Early Cretaceous sandownid Sandownia harrisi Meylan et al, 2000(Hirayama 1998Meylan et al 2000;Joyce 2007;Mateus et al 2009;Sterli et al 2013;Anquetin et al 2015). If these connections are corroborated by future work, Thalassochelydia may become significantly more speciose than presented herein by including species from the Cretaceous and Paleogene.…”

Section: Phylogenetic Relationshipssupporting

confidence: 56%

A review of the fossil record of turtles of the clade Thalassochelydia

Anquetin¹,

Püntener²,

Joyce³

2017

Preprint

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POSTPRINTThis is a postprint of the following peer-reviewed publication: AbstractThe Late Jurassic (Oxfordian to Tithonian) fossil record of Europe and South America has yielded a particularly rich assemblage of aquatic pan-cryptodiran turtles that are herein tentatively hypothesized to form a monophyletic group named Thalassochelydia. Thalassochelydians were traditionally referred to three families, Eurysternidae, Plesiochelyidae, and Thalassemydidae, but the current understanding of phylogenetic relationships is insufficient to support the monophyly of either group. Given their pervasive usage in the literature, however, these three names are herein retained informally. Relationships with marine turtles from the Cretaceous have been suggested in the past, but these hypotheses still lack strong character support. Thalassochelydians are universally found in near-shore marine sediments and show adaptations to aquatic habitats, but isotopic evidence hints at a broad spectrum of specializations ranging from freshwater aquatic to fully marine. A taxonomic review of the group concludes that of 68 named taxa, 27 are nomina valida, 18 are nomina invalida, 18 are nomina dubia, and 5 nomina oblita.

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Section: Phylogenetic Relationshipssupporting

confidence: 56%

A review of the fossil record of turtles of the clade Thalassochelydia

Anquetin¹,

Püntener²,

Joyce³

2017

Preprint

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“…In Africa, Cretaceous cryptodiran turtles are rather scarce and, apart from the taxa from the Maastrichtian Phosphates of Morocco above mentioned, the only other record is Angolachelys Mateus et al, 2009 from the Turonian of Angola [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Giant Chelonioid Turtle from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco with a Suction Feeding Apparatus Unique among Tetrapods

et al. 2013

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BackgroundSecondary adaptation to aquatic life occurred independently in several amniote lineages, including reptiles during the Mesozoic and mammals during the Cenozoic. These evolutionary shifts to aquatic environments imply major morphological modifications, especially of the feeding apparatus. Mesozoic (250–65 Myr) marine reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, mosasaurid squamates, crocodiles, and turtles, exhibit a wide range of adaptations to aquatic feeding and a broad overlap of their tooth morphospaces with those of Cenozoic marine mammals. However, despite these multiple feeding behavior convergences, suction feeding, though being a common feeding strategy in aquatic vertebrates and in marine mammals in particular, has been extremely rarely reported for Mesozoic marine reptiles.Principal FindingsA relative of fossil protostegid and dermochelyoid sea turtles, Ocepechelon bouyai gen. et sp. nov. is a new giant chelonioid from the Late Maastrichtian (67 Myr) of Morocco exhibiting remarkable adaptations to marine life (among others, very dorsally and posteriorly located nostrils). The 70-cm-long skull of Ocepechelon not only makes it one of the largest marine turtles ever described, but also deviates significantly from typical turtle cranial morphology. It shares unique convergences with both syngnathid fishes (unique long tubular bony snout ending in a rounded and anteriorly directed mouth) and beaked whales (large size and elongated edentulous jaws). This striking anatomy suggests extreme adaptation for suction feeding unmatched among known turtles.Conclusion/SignificanceThe feeding apparatus of Ocepechelon, a bony pipette-like snout, is unique among tetrapods. This new taxon exemplifies the successful systematic and ecological diversification of chelonioid turtles during the Late Cretaceous. This new evidence for a unique trophic specialization in turtles, along with the abundant marine vertebrate faunas associated to Ocepechelon in the Late Maastrichtian phosphatic beds of Morocco, further supports the hypothesis that marine life was, at least locally, very diversified just prior to the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K/Pg) biotic crisis.

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“…; Mateus et al . ; Cadena ). Many distinct phylogenetic hypotheses have been proposed, not only for these groups, but also for their members.…”

Section: Independent Origins Of Marine Life In Turtlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These taxa have been recovered as a clade by all phylogenetic studies that included more than one of them (Mateus et al . ; Tong & Meylan ; Cadena ). Their fossils come from shallow marine deposits, and distinctive morphological adaptations such as their extensive secondary palate indicative of a durophagous diet have been interpreted as marine adaptations (Mateus et al .…”

Section: Independent Origins Of Marine Life In Turtlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new phylogenetic hypothesis of turtles with implications for the timing and number of evolutionary transitions to marine lifestyles in the group

2018

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Evolutionary transitions to marine habitats occurred frequently among Mesozoic reptiles. Only one such clade survives to the present: sea turtles (Chelonioidea). Other marine turtles originated during the Mesozoic, but uncertain affinities of key fossils have obscured the number of transitions to marine life, and the timing of the origin of marine adaptation in chelonioids. Phylogenetic studies support either a highly‐inclusive chelonioid total‐group including fossil marine clades from the Jurassic and Cretaceous (e.g. protostegids, thalassochelydians, sandownids) or a less inclusive chelonioid total‐group excluding those clades. Under this paradigm, these clades belong outside Cryptodira, and represent at least one additional evolutionary transition to marine life in turtles. We present a new phylogenetic hypothesis informed by high resolution computed tomographic data of living and fossil taxa. Besides a well‐supported Chelonioidea, which includes protostegids, we recover a previously unknown clade of stem‐group turtles, Angolachelonia, which includes the Late Jurassic thalassochelydians, and the Cretaceous–Palaeogene sandownids. Accounting for the Triassic Odontochelys, our results indicate three independent evolutionary transitions to marine life in non‐pleurodiran turtles (plus an additional two‐three in pleurodires). Among all independent origins of marine habits, a pelagic ecology only evolved once, among chelonioids. All turtle groups that independently invaded marine habitats in the Jurassic–Cretaceous (chelonioids, angolachelonians, bothremydid pleurodires) survived the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction event. This highlights extensive survival of marine turtles compared to other marine reptiles. Furthermore, deeply‐nested clades such as chelonioids are found by the middle Early Cretaceous, suggesting a rapid diversification of crown‐group turtles during the Early Cretaceous.

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The Oldest African Eucryptodiran Turtle from the Cretaceous of Angola

Cited by 34 publications

References 11 publications

A review of the fossil record of turtles of the clade Thalassochelydia

A review of the fossil record of turtles of the clade Thalassochelydia

A Giant Chelonioid Turtle from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco with a Suction Feeding Apparatus Unique among Tetrapods

A new phylogenetic hypothesis of turtles with implications for the timing and number of evolutionary transitions to marine lifestyles in the group

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