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Acleistochelys, a New Side-Necked Turtle (Pelomedusoides: Bothremydidae) from the Paleocene of Mali

2007; American Museum of Natural History; Volume: 3549; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1206/0003-0082(2007)3549[1

1937-352X

Eugene S. Gaffney, Eric M. Roberts, Famory Sissoko, Mohamed L. Bouaré, Leif Tapanila, Maureen A. O’Leary,

Turtle Biology and Conservation

The Paleocene Teberemt Formation south of the Adrar des Iforas Mountains, between Saguirilidad and In Fargas, Mali, yielded a nearly complete skull of a new genus and species of side-necked turtle, Acleistochelys maliensis. Acleistochelys is a member of the family Bothremydidae Baur, 1891, because: 1 the fossa precolumellaris is absent, 2 the foramen stapedio-temporale faces anteriorly, 3 the eustachian tube is separated from the stapes by bone, and 4 an exoccipital-quadrate contact is present. Within the Bothremydidae, Acleistochelys belongs to the tribe Taphrosphyini because: 1 the maxilla-quadratojugal contact is absent, 2 the palate is dorsally arched, 3 there is only a small contribution of the palatine to the triturating surfaces, and 4 the septum orbitotemporale is at least partially open. Acleistochelys is most closely related to Azabbaremys because both share a narrow vomer lacking a posterior attachment to the palatines.The specimen was found in a marine limestone associated with crocodiles, echinoids, and mollusks.