Alienochelys
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
Skull of specimen.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Family: †Protostegidae
Genus: †Alienochelys
de Lapparent de Broin, 2014
Type species
†Alienochelys selloumi
de Lapparent de Broin, 2014
Life restoration of Alienochelys (middle right) and other animals of the Ouled Abdoun Basin

Alienochelys ("strange turtle") is an extinct genus of sea turtle known from Maastrichian-aged Cretaceous phosphates in Morocco.[1] With a skull measuring 41.5 centimetres (1.36 ft) long, it would have been a very large turtle.[2] It was first described as a member of the family Dermochelyidae, meaning that it is a relative of the modern leatherback turtle,[2] though a 2018 study identifies it as a sister taxon of Ocepechelon belonging to the family Protostegidae, indicating that it may have been closer to the extinct Archelon.[3] Unlike other sea turtles, Alienochelys' the jaws being adapted for a powerful crushing pattern well adapted for a durophagous lifestyle, as well as its unusual cranial characteristics.[2][4]

References

  1. ↑ "Fossilworks: Alienochelys". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 de Lapparent de Broin, France; Bardet, Nathalie; Amaghzaz, Mbarek; Meslouh, Saïd (2014). "A strange new chelonioid turtle from the Latest Cretaceous Phosphates of Morocco". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 13 (2): 87–95. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2013.07.008.
  3. ↑ Scavezzoni, I.; Fischer, V. (2018). "Rhinochelys amaberti Moret (1935), a Protostegid Turtle from the Early Cretaceous of France". PeerJ. 10 (6): e4594. doi:10.7717/peerj.4594. PMC 5898427. PMID 29666758.
  4. ↑ Cooper, S.L.A.; Marson, K.J.; Smith, R.E.; Martill, D. (2022). "Contrasting preservation in pycnodont fishes reveals first record of regurgitalites from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Moroccan phosphate deposits". Cretaceous Research. 131 (4). 105111. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105111.
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