Corsochelys
| Corsochelys Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
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Corsochelys
Zangerl, 1960
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| Type species | |
| †C. halinches |
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Corsochelys is an extinct genus of sea turtle that lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian). Zangerl (1960) named the type species (and currently only species; C. haliniches), based upon remains found in Alabama within the Mooreville Chalk Formation (the lower part of the Selma Group).[1]
Description
Corsochelys is a basal dermochelyid.[1] As with other basal chelonioids (such as Santanachelys and Toxochelys), Corsochelys possesses a large foramen interorbitale with a narrow processus inferior parietalis, which indicates that the genus possessed developed, salt-excreting lachrymal glands.[2] In addition to its similarly to these genera, Corsochelys retains a carapace with minimally reduced coastal plates.[3] Like the larger Archelon, Corsochelys had channels penetrating the subphyseal plate from bone into the cartilage above,[4] much like the living leatherback turtle. This means that Corsochelys would have reached their large size quickly through fast skeletal growth, as with the leatherback.[4]
Recently, a dermochelyid that closely resembles Corsochelys was found in the Maastrichtian deposits of the Ouled Abdoun phosphate basin, Morocco.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hiryana R. 1997. Distribution and diversity of Cretaceous chelonioids. In: Ancient Marine Reptiles (eds.) Callaway JM, Nicholls EL. Academic Press. pp. 225-241.
- ↑ Hiryana R. 1998. Oldest known sea turtle. Nature 392:705-708. Retrieved on June 20th, 2008.
- ↑ 2004. Lehman TM, Tomlinson SL. 2004. Terlinguachelys fischbecki, a new genus and species of sea turtle (Chelonioidea: Protostegidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Texas. Journal of Paleontology 78(6): 1163-1178 Retrieved on June 20th, 2008.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Snover ML, Rhodin AGL. 2007. Comparative ontogenetic and phylogenetic aspects of chelonian chondro-osseous growth and skeletochronology. In: Wyneken J, Godfrey M, Mels V. (eds.). The biology of turtles. USA: CRC Press pp. 17-43. Retrieved on June 20th, 2008.
- ↑ Tong H, Hirayama R. 2004. First Cretaceous dermochelyid turtle from Africa. Revue de Paléobiologie, Genève 9: 55-59. Retrieved on June 20th, 2008.
Suggested further reading
- The Biology of Sea Turtles by Peter L. Lutz and John A. Musick
- Biology of Turtles by Jeanette Wyneken, Matthew H. Godfrey, and Vincent Bels
External links
- Corsochelys in the Paleobiology Database
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