Meiolaniformes
Extinct clade of reptiles
Meiolaniformes is an extinct clade of stem-group turtles, defined as all taxa more closely related to Meiolania than to Cryptodira and Pleurodira. It is known from the Early Cretaceous to the Holocene of Australia, Oceania and South America. Some Eurasian taxa have been suggested to be part of the group, but this is disputed.
The oldest member of Meiolaniformes is Australian Early Cretaceous Otwayemys.
01Taxonomy
The clade as currently defined contains the following taxa:
- †Chubutemys Gaffney et al. 2007 - Aptian, Cerro Barcino Formation, Argentina
- †Otwayemys Gaffney et al. 1998 - Aptian, Eumeralla Formation, Australia
- †Patagoniaemys Sterli and de la Fuente 2011 Upper Campanian-Lower Maastrichtian, La Colonia Formation, Argentina
- †Peligrochelys Sterli and de la Fuente 2011 Danian, Salamanca Formation, Argentina
- †Trapalcochelys Sterli et al. 2013 Upper Campanian, Allen Formation, Argentina
- †Meiolaniidae Lydekker 1887, Eocene to Holocene, Argentina and Australia and Oceania
It has also been suggested that Mongolochelys, Sichuanchelys, and Kallokibotion from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia, China and Europe respectively are part of this group, but other studies find these taxa in a more derived position nearer crown Testudines. Regardless, all taxa are members of Perichelydia.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Meiolaniformes”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Meiolania platyceps (cropped).jpg by Fanny Schertzer, CC BY-SA 3.0
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