Acleistochelys, a new side-necked turtle (Pelomedusoides, Bothremydidae) from the Paleocene of Mali

Title Variants

Alternative: New side-necked turtle (Pelomedusoides, Bothremydidae) from the Paleocene of Mali

Alternative: New side-necked turtle from Mali

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 3549

By

Gaffney, Eugene S.
Roberts, Eric (Eric M.)
Sissoko, Famory.
Bouaré, Mohamed L.
Tapanila, Leif,
O'Leary, Maureen A.

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, NY American Museum of Natural History c2007

Notes

Caption title.

"January 15, 2007."

The Paleocene Teberemt Formation south of the Adrar des Iforas Mountains, between Saguirilidad and In Fargas, Mali, yielded a nearly complete skull of a new genus and species of side-necked turtle, Acleistochelys maliensis. Acleistochelys is a member of the family Bothremydidae Baur, 1891, because: (1) the fossa precolumellaris is absent, (2) the foramen stapedio-temporale faces anteriorly, (3) the eustachian tube is separated from the stapes by bone, and (4) an exoccipital-quadrate contact is present. Within the Bothremydidae, Acleistochelys belongs to the tribe Taphrosphyini because: (1) the maxilla-quadratojugal contact is absent, (2) the palate is dorsally arched, (3) there is only a small contribution of the palatine to the triturating surfaces, and (4) the septum orbitotemporale is at least partially open. Acleistochelys is most closely related to Azabbaremys because both share a narrow vomer lacking a posterior attachment to the palatines. The specimen was found in a marine limestone associated with crocodiles, echinoids, and mollusks.

Subjects

Acleistochelys maliensis , Mali , Paleocene , Paleontology , Reptiles, Fossil , Teberemt Formation , Turtles, Fossil

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.3549 2007

Language

English

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0082(2007)3549[1:AANSTP]2.0.CO;2
OCLC: 79629311