Trionychian turtles from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Moghra Formation, Egypt, including a new species of Carettochelyidae
Abstract Although trionychians have a rich fossil record, much of their fossil diversity is known from the Cretaceous and Paleogene, and little is known about their evolutionary history in the Neogene. We here describe cranial and shell material of trionychians from the Early Miocene Moghra Formatio...
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| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Swiss Journal of Palaeontology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00358-5 |
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| author | Yann Rollot Mohamed K. AbdelGawad Mohamed A. Hamdan Ahmed N. El-Barkooky Safiya M. Hassan Walter G. Joyce |
| author_facet | Yann Rollot Mohamed K. AbdelGawad Mohamed A. Hamdan Ahmed N. El-Barkooky Safiya M. Hassan Walter G. Joyce |
| author_sort | Yann Rollot |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Although trionychians have a rich fossil record, much of their fossil diversity is known from the Cretaceous and Paleogene, and little is known about their evolutionary history in the Neogene. We here describe cranial and shell material of trionychians from the Early Miocene Moghra Formation of Egypt that we attribute to a new carettochelyid taxon, Allaeochelys meylani sp. nov., and to the Trionyx lineage. Allaeochelys meylani sp. nov. fills a temporal gap between previously described taxa and exhibits a series of unique features, including greatly thickened cranial bones, a broad bony wall posterior to the orbit, a large fossa formed by the maxilla and premaxilla at the anterior third of the triturating surface, and a medial process on peripheral II. Allaeochelys meylani sp. nov. also documents the oldest occurrence of Carettochelyidae on the Afro-Arabian continent, while the Trionyx material reported herein provides unambiguous evidence for the presence of this lineage on the Afro-Arabian continent no later than the Early Miocene. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8ff059d914e1412f87e6e4ca2aa8be34 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1664-2376 1664-2384 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
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| series | Swiss Journal of Palaeontology |
| spelling | doaj-art-8ff059d914e1412f87e6e4ca2aa8be342025-08-20T02:10:31ZengSpringerOpenSwiss Journal of Palaeontology1664-23761664-23842025-06-01144113710.1186/s13358-025-00358-5Trionychian turtles from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Moghra Formation, Egypt, including a new species of CarettochelyidaeYann Rollot0Mohamed K. AbdelGawad1Mohamed A. Hamdan2Ahmed N. El-Barkooky3Safiya M. Hassan4Walter G. Joyce5Department of Geosciences, University of FribourgGeology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo UniversityGeology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo UniversityGeology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo UniversityMineral Resources Department, Faculty of Earth Science, Beni-Suef UniversityDepartment of Geosciences, University of FribourgAbstract Although trionychians have a rich fossil record, much of their fossil diversity is known from the Cretaceous and Paleogene, and little is known about their evolutionary history in the Neogene. We here describe cranial and shell material of trionychians from the Early Miocene Moghra Formation of Egypt that we attribute to a new carettochelyid taxon, Allaeochelys meylani sp. nov., and to the Trionyx lineage. Allaeochelys meylani sp. nov. fills a temporal gap between previously described taxa and exhibits a series of unique features, including greatly thickened cranial bones, a broad bony wall posterior to the orbit, a large fossa formed by the maxilla and premaxilla at the anterior third of the triturating surface, and a medial process on peripheral II. Allaeochelys meylani sp. nov. also documents the oldest occurrence of Carettochelyidae on the Afro-Arabian continent, while the Trionyx material reported herein provides unambiguous evidence for the presence of this lineage on the Afro-Arabian continent no later than the Early Miocene.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00358-5TestudinesTrionychiaCarettochelyidaeTrionychidaeTrionychinaeAnatomy |
| spellingShingle | Yann Rollot Mohamed K. AbdelGawad Mohamed A. Hamdan Ahmed N. El-Barkooky Safiya M. Hassan Walter G. Joyce Trionychian turtles from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Moghra Formation, Egypt, including a new species of Carettochelyidae Swiss Journal of Palaeontology Testudines Trionychia Carettochelyidae Trionychidae Trionychinae Anatomy |
| title | Trionychian turtles from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Moghra Formation, Egypt, including a new species of Carettochelyidae |
| title_full | Trionychian turtles from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Moghra Formation, Egypt, including a new species of Carettochelyidae |
| title_fullStr | Trionychian turtles from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Moghra Formation, Egypt, including a new species of Carettochelyidae |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trionychian turtles from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Moghra Formation, Egypt, including a new species of Carettochelyidae |
| title_short | Trionychian turtles from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Moghra Formation, Egypt, including a new species of Carettochelyidae |
| title_sort | trionychian turtles from the early miocene burdigalian moghra formation egypt including a new species of carettochelyidae |
| topic | Testudines Trionychia Carettochelyidae Trionychidae Trionychinae Anatomy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00358-5 |
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