Bothremydidae is an extinct
family of
side-necked turtles (Pleurodira) known from the
Cretaceous and
Cenozoic. They are closely related to
Podocnemididae, and are amongst the most widely distributed pleurodire groups, with their fossils having been found in Africa, India, the Middle East, Europe, North America and South America. Bothremydids were aquatic turtles with a high morphological diversity, indicative of generalist, molluscivorous,
piscivorous and possibly herbivorous grazing diets,[1][2] with some probably capable of
suction feeding.[2] Unlike modern pleurodires, which are exclusively freshwater, bothremydids inhabited freshwater, marine and coastal environments.[1] Their marine habits allowed bothremydids to disperse across oceanic barriers into Europe and North America during the early Late Cretaceous (
Cenomanian).[3] The youngest records of the group are indeterminate remains from Saudi Arabia and Oman, dating to the
Miocene.[4]
Taxonomy
The family is split into two subfamilies and a number of tribes.[5]
Algorachelus tibert (Joyce et al. 2016)
Naturita Formation, Utah, Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) (alternatively considered the only member of the genus Paiutemys)
Iberoccitanemysatlanticum (Lapparent de Broin and Murelaga, 1996 originally Polysternon atlanticum) syn Iberoccitanemys convenarum (Laurent et al., 2002)
^Pérez-García, Adán (2016). "A new turtle taxon (Podocnemidoidea, Bothremydidae) reveals the oldest known dispersal event of the crown Pleurodira from Gondwana to Laurasia". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 15 (9): 709–731.
doi:
10.1080/14772019.2016.1228549.
S2CID88840423. Pan-Pleurodira is one of the two clades of extant turtles (i.e. Testudines). Its crown group, Pleurodira, has a Gondwanan origin being known from the Barremian. Cretaceous turtle fauna of Gondwana was composed almost exclusively of pleurodires. Extant pleurodires live in relatively warm regions, with a geographical distribution restricted to tropical regions that were part of Gondwana.
Bothremydidae is an extinct
family of
side-necked turtles (Pleurodira) known from the
Cretaceous and
Cenozoic. They are closely related to
Podocnemididae, and are amongst the most widely distributed pleurodire groups, with their fossils having been found in Africa, India, the Middle East, Europe, North America and South America. Bothremydids were aquatic turtles with a high morphological diversity, indicative of generalist, molluscivorous,
piscivorous and possibly herbivorous grazing diets,[1][2] with some probably capable of
suction feeding.[2] Unlike modern pleurodires, which are exclusively freshwater, bothremydids inhabited freshwater, marine and coastal environments.[1] Their marine habits allowed bothremydids to disperse across oceanic barriers into Europe and North America during the early Late Cretaceous (
Cenomanian).[3] The youngest records of the group are indeterminate remains from Saudi Arabia and Oman, dating to the
Miocene.[4]
Taxonomy
The family is split into two subfamilies and a number of tribes.[5]
Algorachelus tibert (Joyce et al. 2016)
Naturita Formation, Utah, Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) (alternatively considered the only member of the genus Paiutemys)
Iberoccitanemysatlanticum (Lapparent de Broin and Murelaga, 1996 originally Polysternon atlanticum) syn Iberoccitanemys convenarum (Laurent et al., 2002)
^Pérez-García, Adán (2016). "A new turtle taxon (Podocnemidoidea, Bothremydidae) reveals the oldest known dispersal event of the crown Pleurodira from Gondwana to Laurasia". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 15 (9): 709–731.
doi:
10.1080/14772019.2016.1228549.
S2CID88840423. Pan-Pleurodira is one of the two clades of extant turtles (i.e. Testudines). Its crown group, Pleurodira, has a Gondwanan origin being known from the Barremian. Cretaceous turtle fauna of Gondwana was composed almost exclusively of pleurodires. Extant pleurodires live in relatively warm regions, with a geographical distribution restricted to tropical regions that were part of Gondwana.