Prochelidella buitreraensis
Prochelidella buitreraensis was a species of fossil turtle assigned to the family Chelidae, a group of freshwater turtles which lived in the Cenomanian during the Upper Cretaceous, approximately 100 million years ago. Its specific epithet, buitreraensis, is due to the paleonthologic site La Buitrera, where it was found.[1]
| Prochelidella buitreraensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Pleurodira |
| Family: | Chelidae |
| Genus: | †Prochelidella |
| Species: | †P. buitreraensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Prochelidella buitreraensis Maniel et al., 2020 | |
Characteristics
The remains are notable for their exceptional state of preservation, which includes the presence of the skull. Besides, the remains of cervical vertebrae, the shell and the appendicular skeleton have also been found. The remains were found in Cañadón de las Tortugas, at La Buitrera, Río Negro Province, Argentine Patagonia, by scientists from CONICET. The estimated age of the finding, from the Cenomanian age, was calculated with radiometric dating carried out on zircons on a volcanic tuff. The remains of Prochelydella buitreraensis are hosted at Carlos Ameghino Provincial Museum in the city of Cipolletti, Río Negro Province, Argentina.[2] Its discovery appears to show that turtles and tortoises at some point in their early history were incapable of hiding their heads into their shells.[3]
References
- Fernández, Leonardo (2020-06-04). "Hallan restos fósiles de una nueva especie de tortuga de agua dulce". CONICET. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
- Maniel, Ignacio J.; de la Fuente, Marcelo S.; Apesteguía, Sebastián; Pérez Mayoral, Joaquin; Sanchez, Maria L.; Veiga, Gonzalo D.; Smales, Ian (2020-02-24). "Cranial and postcranial remains of a new species of Prochelidella (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from 'La Buitrera' (Cenomanian of Patagonia, Argentina), with comments on the monophyly of this extinct chelid genus from southern Gondwana". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (12): 1033–1055. doi:10.1080/14772019.2020.1721579. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
- Garcia, Victor (2020-08-03). "Investigadores argentinos descubren que las tortugas antes no podían esconder su cabeza dentro del caparazón". Diario El Zonda (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-09-03.