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| Mesodermochelys Temporal range: late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Family: | Dermochelyidae |
| Genus: | Mesodermochelys Hirayama & Chitoku, 1996 |
| Type species | |
| †M. undulatus | |
| Species | |
| |
Mesodermochelys is an extinct genus of sea turtle that existed during the late Cretaceous period. Its fossils have been found in Japan. It was first named by Ren Hirayama and Chitoku in 1996, and contains one species, the type species M. undulatus. Studies of the skull of M. undulatus imply that it was a primitive cheloniid, and was closely-related to the Protostegidae. Mesodermochelys was declared by the paleontological community of the Teikyo Heisei University to be a better representative of Mesozoic dermochelyiids.
Description
Mesodermochelys had elongated front flippers. The turtle was able to reach a length of approximately 1.3 metres. Similarly to dermochelyiids from the Cenezoic era, its jaw contains a suprangular bone. The scutes on the carapace of the turtle are only grooved in the neural region of the shell.
Specimens
In October 2005, Yoshiyuki Hattori uncovered a skull of Mesodermochelys, in the Santonian Yezo Group in the Hokkaido Prefecture. Though weathering had caused the absence of most of the dermal roofing elements on the skull, it is regarded as being the most well-preserved specimen of a Mesodermochelys skull. The skull was donated to the Hokkaido Museum, where a study using formic acid revealed certain characteristics about the skull. Other, less complete specimens of Mesodermochelys skulls and jaws have been found in the Maastrichtian type locality of the Hokkaido Prefecture. A total of fifteen specimens have been uncovered including, an almost-complete shell.
References
- ^ "Cranial Morphology of Mesodermachelys (Chelonioidea; Testudines) from the Late Cretaceous of Japan". Ren Hirayama, Wasedo University, Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 57 (help) - ^ "A dermochelyid sea turtle fromthe Upper Cretaceous (Late Campanian)Izumi Group of Shionoe, Takamatsu,Kagawa Prefecture, Western Japan". Hirayama, R., A. Fujii, and K. Takahashi. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
- ^ "1022 Family Dermochelyidae (Superfamily Chelonioidea) from the Upper Cretaceous of North Japan". Faculty of Information, Teikyo Heisei University. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
Further reading
- Ameghiniana by the Paleontological Society of Argentina.