| Brodiechelys | |
|---|---|
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| Carapace of Brodiechelys restoration | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Pantestudines |
| Clade: | Testudinata |
| Family: | †Xinjiangchelyidae |
| Genus: | †Brodiechelys Nopcsa,1928 |
| Type species | |
| †Plesiochelys brodiei | |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
Synonyms ofB. brodiei
| |
Brodiechelys is anextinctgenus of terrestrialturtle belonging to the familyXinjiangchelyidae. Remains ofBrodiechelys dated back to theEarly Cretaceous period (Berriasian toBarremian stages), and have been found in theUnited Kingdom andSpain.
Thetype species,B. brodiei, was thought to only come from theWealden of theUnited Kingdom, however, specimens of ten shells were found in the locality ofBrighstone Bay in theWessex Sub-basin of theIsle of Wight, UK. Fragmentary specimens of shell corresponding to an indeterminate species were also found outside Wealden; these specimens were unearthed in theWeald Sub-basin ofSussex, UK. The discovery of the speciesB. royoi in theMaestrazgo Basin ofMorella,Spain had madepaleontologists realize that somefreshwater turtle taxa had a wideEuropean distribution during the Early Cretaceous, and at the same time being present in both the UK and theIberian Peninsula.B. royoi was assigned toBrodiechelys due to the identified similarities it had withB. brodiei, however,B. royoi possessed severalautapomorphies, and therefore its specimens could not have belonged toB. brodiei.[1]
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