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Middle Jurassic turtles from the Sichuan Basin, China: a review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2011

HAIYAN TONG ,
IGOR DANILOV ,
YONG YE ,
HUI OUYANG  and
GUANGZHAO PENG
HAIYAN TONG*
Affiliation:
Research Associate, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology, 142 Xizhimenwai St., Beijing 100044, China
IGOR DANILOV
Affiliation:
Department of Herpetology, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universiteskaya Emb. 1, 199034, St Petersburg, Russia
YONG YE
Affiliation:
Zigong Dinosaur Museum, 238 Dashanpu, Zigong, Sichuan 643013, China
HUI OUYANG
Affiliation:
Chongqing Museum of Natural History, 74 Pipashanzhengjie, Yuzhong district, Chongqing 400013, China
GUANGZHAO PENG
Affiliation:
Zigong Dinosaur Museum, 238 Dashanpu, Zigong, Sichuan 643013, China
*
†Author for correspondence: htong09@yahoo.fr
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Abstract

The turtle fauna of the Middle Jurassic Xiashaximiao Formation in the Sichuan Basin and the type series of Chengyuchelys baenoides Young & Chow, 1953 are revised. By the absence of a mesoplastron and other shell characters, both the holotype and paratype of Chengyuchelys baenoides belong to the family Xinjiangchelyidae and come probably from the Upper Jurassic Shangshaximiao Formation. The Middle Jurassic turtle assemblage of the Sichuan Basin is composed of two entities: the Bashuchelyidae fam. nov. (Bashuchelys gen. nov., Chuannanchelys gen. nov.) and Protoxinjiangchelys gen. nov. on the one hand, and Sichuanchelys on the other hand, with the former as the dominant group. Bashuchelyids and xinjiangchelyids are closely related to one another, while Sichuanchelys is more primitive and has no shared apomorphic features with bashuchelyids. The whole assemblage appears to be endemic to the Sichuan Basin at genus level and distinct from the Late Jurassic turtle fauna of the same basin in its relict nature and absence of the Polycryptodira.

Keywords

TestudinesMiddle JurassicSichuan BasinChinasystematics
Type
Original Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 149 , Issue 4 , July 2012 , pp. 675 - 695
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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Footnotes

Current address: 30 Rue Carnot, 94270 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France

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