Galianemys, a new side-necked turtle (Pelomedusoides, Bothremydidae) from the late Cretaceous of Morocco

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 3379

By

Gaffney, Eugene S.

Tong, Haiyan
Meylan, Peter A. (Peter Andre)

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, NY American Museum of Natural History c2002

Notes

Caption title.

"August 16, 2002."

The Cenomanian redbeds of southern Morocco have yielded skulls of a new genus and two new species of side-necked turtles, Galianemys whitei and Galianemys emringeri. The genus is based on a series of nine well-preserved skulls and three partial skulls. Galianemys is a pelomedusoid pleurodire belonging to the family Bothremydidae Baur, 1891, because it has: (1) precolumellar fossa absent, (2) foramen stapedio-temporale facing anteriorly, (3) eustachian tube separated from stapes by bone, and (4) exoccipital-quadrate contact. Within the Bothremydidae Galianemys is best resolved as the sister group to Cearachelys because both have the jugal retracted from the orbital margin and a small, slitlike fenestra postotica. Galianemys emringeri has a deep fossa pterygoidei, ventrally exposed prootic, foramen nervi facialis and foramen nervi vidiani, a thicker labial ridge, and the jugal not exposed on the triturating surface, while Galianemys whitei has a shallow fossa pterygoidei, covered prootic and foramen nervi facialis and vidiani, a thinner labial ridge, and a jugal exposed on the triturating surface.

Subjects

Cretaceous , Galianemys emringeri , Galianemys whitei , Morocco , Paleontology , Reptiles, Fossil , Turtles, Fossil

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.3379 2002

Language

English

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0082(2002)379<0001:GANSNT>2.0.CO;2
OCLC: 50498987