Psephophorus | |
---|---|
Skull (LACM 162552) of P. sp. at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Chelonioidea |
Family: | Dermochelyidae |
Genus: | †
Psephophorus von Meyer, 1847 |
Type species | |
†P. polygonus | |
Species | |
|
Psephophorus is an extinct genus of sea turtle that lived from the Oligocene to the Pliocene. Its remains have been found in Europe, Africa, North America, and New Zealand. [1] It was first named by Hermann von Meyer in 1847, and contains seven species, P. polygonus, P. calvertensis, P. eocaenus, P. oregonesis, [2] P. californiensis, [3] P. rupeliensis, [4] P. scaldii, [4] and a species discovered in 1995, [1] [5] P. terrypratchetti.
Psephophorus is the only Miocene dermochelyid turtle found in Europe. [6] One species of Psephophorus could measure up to ten feet in length. [7]
Von Meyer originally named Psephophorus in 1846. [8] At first he was unable to identify the creature beyond its dermal plates, but when he later received a drawing he was able to describe the specimen, which was then in Pressburg, as a fragment of a carapace, which contained seventy bones. [8]
In 1879, H. G. Seeley was asked to study the Psephophorus specimen by Franz Ritter von Hauer, the Director of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Geological Survey. [8] Up until then, the specimen's identity had been undeterminable, with even Seeley describing it at first to seem like "the dermal covering of an Edentate closely allied to the Armadilloes." [8] Seeley examined some bone fragments and concluded the specimen was that of a reptilian creature, [8] furthermore a chelonid. It also proved to be more closely related to Sphargis than any other type in the Chelonian order. [8]
For a long time, modern Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys) were believed to be descended directly from Psephophorus, [9] specifically the species P. polygonus. [10] However, a 1996 analysis by Wood et al. proved that most of the taxa in the two genera were not connected, meaning Psephophorus could not be a direct ancestor of the modern leatherbacks. [9] The platelets on Psephophorus are quite similar to those on Dermochelys, despite differences in outer morphology and size. [11] The platelet comprises an external compact layer and an internal zone of cancellous bone. [11]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
Psephophorus | |
---|---|
Skull (LACM 162552) of P. sp. at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Chelonioidea |
Family: | Dermochelyidae |
Genus: | †
Psephophorus von Meyer, 1847 |
Type species | |
†P. polygonus | |
Species | |
|
Psephophorus is an extinct genus of sea turtle that lived from the Oligocene to the Pliocene. Its remains have been found in Europe, Africa, North America, and New Zealand. [1] It was first named by Hermann von Meyer in 1847, and contains seven species, P. polygonus, P. calvertensis, P. eocaenus, P. oregonesis, [2] P. californiensis, [3] P. rupeliensis, [4] P. scaldii, [4] and a species discovered in 1995, [1] [5] P. terrypratchetti.
Psephophorus is the only Miocene dermochelyid turtle found in Europe. [6] One species of Psephophorus could measure up to ten feet in length. [7]
Von Meyer originally named Psephophorus in 1846. [8] At first he was unable to identify the creature beyond its dermal plates, but when he later received a drawing he was able to describe the specimen, which was then in Pressburg, as a fragment of a carapace, which contained seventy bones. [8]
In 1879, H. G. Seeley was asked to study the Psephophorus specimen by Franz Ritter von Hauer, the Director of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Geological Survey. [8] Up until then, the specimen's identity had been undeterminable, with even Seeley describing it at first to seem like "the dermal covering of an Edentate closely allied to the Armadilloes." [8] Seeley examined some bone fragments and concluded the specimen was that of a reptilian creature, [8] furthermore a chelonid. It also proved to be more closely related to Sphargis than any other type in the Chelonian order. [8]
For a long time, modern Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys) were believed to be descended directly from Psephophorus, [9] specifically the species P. polygonus. [10] However, a 1996 analysis by Wood et al. proved that most of the taxa in the two genera were not connected, meaning Psephophorus could not be a direct ancestor of the modern leatherbacks. [9] The platelets on Psephophorus are quite similar to those on Dermochelys, despite differences in outer morphology and size. [11] The platelet comprises an external compact layer and an internal zone of cancellous bone. [11]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)