Neochelys (Greek for "new turtle") is an extinct genus of freshwater side-necked turtle that inhabited Europe during the Eocene. It was a diverse genus known throughout western and southern Europe from the Ypresian to the Priabonian.[1]
| Neochelys Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| N. franzeni specimens at the Senckenberg Museum | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Pleurodira |
| Family: | Podocnemididae |
| Subfamily: | Erymnochelyinae |
| Genus: | †Neochelys Bergounioux, 1954 |
| Type species | |
| †Emys capellinii de Zigno, 1890
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| Species | |
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See text | |
Taxonomy
editThe following species are known:[1][2]
- †N. arenarum de Broin, 1977 – early-mid Ypresian of France (Lignites de Soissonais)[3]
- †N. capellinii (de Zigno, 1890) (type species) – latest Ypresian or earliest Lutetian of Italy (Monte Bolca) (=Emys capellinii)
- †N. eocaenica (de Stefano, 1902) – latest Ypresian or earliest Lutetian of France (Grès d'Aigne Formation)
- †N. franzeni Schleich, 1993 – early Lutetian of Germany (Messel Formation)[4]
- †N. laurenti Tong, 1998 – mid-late Ypresian of France (Saint-Papoul Formation)[5]
- †N. liriae Pérez-García & de Broin, 2013 – mid-late Ypresian of France (Grès d'Assignan Formation)
- †N. salmanticensis Jimenez, 1971 – Bartonian of Spain (=Podocnemis carbajosai)[6]
- †N. zamorensis Jimenez-Fuentes, 1992 – late Lutetian of Spain (Entrala Formation)
Indeterminate remains are known from the latest Eocene (Priabonian) of France and Spain; these have not been assigned to a specific species, but represent the youngest record of the genus.[1] The species "N." fajumensis from the Oligocene of Egypt was briefly assigned to this genus, but is now thought to belong to its own genus, Shetwemys.[7]
Morphological analyses suggest that Neochelys likely represents an ancient lineage of the Erymnochelyinae, sister to the clade composed of the South American Peltocephalus and the Malagasy Erymnochelys.[4] The taxonomic relationships between the multiple Neochelys species remain largely unknown. It has been suggested that N. eocaenica, N. capellinii, and N. salmanticensis together form a species complex known as the "N. eocaenica complex", but this is uncertain.[1]
Ecology
editA pathological Neochelys shell is known from the middle Eocene of Spain, hosting abnormalities that were previously thought to be the result of a crocodile attack. However, more recent studies instead suggest that these may instead occurred from parasites or a bacterial/fungal infection.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Pérez-García, Adán; de Lapparent de Broin, France (2013-06-01). "A new species of Neochelys (Chelonii, Podocnemididae) from the Ypresian (Early Eocene) of the South of France". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 12 (5): 269–277. Bibcode:2013CRPal..12..269P. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2013.05.011.
- ^ "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
- ^ Martín-Jiménez, Marcos; Pérez-García, Adán (2023-03-28). "Neuroanatomical study of the podocnemidid turtle Neochelys arenarum (Pleurodira), from the early Eocene of France". The Anatomical Record. doi:10.1002/ar.25217. ISSN 1932-8486.
- ^ a b Cadena, Edwin (2015-08-27). "A global phylogeny of Pelomedusoides turtles with new material of Neochelys franzeni Schleich, 1993 (Testudines, Podocnemididae) from the middle Eocene, Messel Pit, of Germany". PeerJ. 3: e1221. doi:10.7717/peerj.1221. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 4556147. PMID 26336649.
- ^ Pérez-García, Adán; de Lapparent de Broin, France (2015-12-01). "New insights into the anatomy and systematic of 'Papoulemys' laurenti, a representative of Neochelys (Chelonii, Podocnemididae) from the early Eocene of the south of France". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 89 (4): 901–923. Bibcode:2015PalZ...89..901P. doi:10.1007/s12542-015-0259-3.
- ^ Pérez-García, Adán; Guerrero, Andrea; Martín de Jesús, Santiago; Ortega, Francisco (2023-04-18). "Shell characterization of the youngest valid species of the European Eocene genus Neochelys (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae): The Spanish Bartonian Neochelys salmanticensis". The Anatomical Record. doi:10.1002/ar.25225. ISSN 1932-8486. PMID 37072560.
- ^ Gaffney, Eugene S.; Meylan, Peter Andre; Wood, Roger Conant; Simons, Elwyn L.; Campos, Diógenes de Almeida (2011). "Evolution of the side-necked turtles: the family Podocnemididae". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 350: 1–237. hdl:2246/6110.
- ^ Guerrero, Andrea; Ortega, Francisco; Martín de Jesús, Santiago; Pérez-García, Adán (March 2023). "Analysis of the anomalies in a Middle Eocene shell of Neochelys (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae) from the Duero Basin (Zamora, Spain)". Diversity. 15 (3): 314. doi:10.3390/d15030314.