Geological Magazine

Table of Contents - July 2012 - Volume 149, Issue 04  

Original Articles

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

HAIYAN TONGa1 p1 c1, IGOR DANILOVa2, YONG YEa3, HUI OUYANGa4 and GUANGZHAO PENGa3

a1 Research Associate, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology, 142 Xizhimenwai St., Beijing 100044, China

a2 Department of Herpetology, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universiteskaya Emb. 1, 199034, St Petersburg, Russia

a3 Zigong Dinosaur Museum, 238 Dashanpu, Zigong, Sichuan 643013, China

a4 Chongqing Museum of Natural History, 74 Pipashanzhengjie, Yuzhong district, Chongqing 400013, China

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.

(Received January 24 2011)

(Accepted July 14 2011)

(Online publication November 04 2011)

Keywords:

  • Testudines;
  • Middle Jurassic;
  • Sichuan Basin;
  • China;
  • systematics

Correspondence:

c1 Author for correspondence: htong09@yahoo.fr

p1 Current address: 30 Rue Carnot, 94270 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France

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