Placochelys (from , "plate" and , "tortoise")
Fossil records
Fossils of
Placochelys dates back to the
Triassic period (age range: 221.5 to 205.6 million years ago). They have been found in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy.
[ Paleobiology Database]
Species
This genus includes only one species:
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Placochelys placodonta Jaekel, 1902 (from Upper Ladinian of Hungary)
Description
Placochelys looked remarkably similar to a
sea turtle, and grew to about in length. It had a flat turtle-like carapace covered with knobbly plates, and a compact triangular
skull. Its beaked skull had powerful muscles. It had only two pairs of palatal teeth, a large posterior pair, and a small rostral pair. The specialized broad teeth on the palate, were most likely used for crushing
shellfish and hard-shelled prey. Its limbs were paddle-shaped for swimming, although, unlike modern sea turtles, they still had discernable toes, and it also had a short tail.
Gallery
File:Placochelys BW.jpg|Life restoration of Placochelys
File:Placochelyidae - Placochelys placodonta.JPG| Placochelys placodonta fossil skull, lateral view
File:Placochelys placodonta.JPG| Placochelys placodonta skull seen from below
File:Placochelys tooth adnet.jpg| Placochelys tooth from Adnet, Austria
Bibliography
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Jaekel O. 1902. Über Placochelys n. g. und ihre Beeutung fur die Stammesgeschichte der Schildkroten: Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie und Palaontologie, Abhandlungen, 1902: 127–144.
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Mazin, J.-M. and Pinna, G. 1993. Palaeoecology of the armoured placodonts. Paleontologia Lombarda, N. S. 2: 83–91.
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Rieppel O. and Zanon R.T. 1997. The interrelationships of Placodontia. Historical Biology: Vol. 12, pp. 211–227
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Yin G., in Yin, G., Zhou, X., Cao, Z., Yu, Y, and Luo, Y., 2000, A preliminary study on the Early Late Triassic marine reptiles from Guanling Guizhou, China.
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Rieppel O. 2001. The Cranial Anatomy of Placochelys placodonta Jaekel, 1902, And a Review of the Cyamodontoidea (reptilia, Placodonta) Fieldiana: Geology, New Series, No. 45:1-101.
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Rieppel, O., 2002, The dermal armor of the cyamodontoid placodonts (Reptilia, Sauropterygia): morphology and systematic value: Fieldiana; Geology, new series, n. 46, p. 1-41pp.
External links
