Ocepechelon

Ocepechelon Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 67 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓

Skull and size comparison of Ocepechelon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Clade:	Americhelydia
Clade:	Dermochelyoidae
Family:	Dermochelyidae
Genus:	†Ocepechelon Bardet et al, 2013
Type species
†Ocepechelon bouyai Bardet et al, 2013

Suction feeding by an Ocepechelon (animation)

Ocepechelon is an extinct genus of giant dermochelyoid sea turtle known from Late Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian stage, 67 Myr) Phosphatic deposits of the Oulad Abdoun Basin, Khouribga Province of Morocco. It is known from the holotype OCP DEK/GE 516, a complete but isolated 70-cm-long skull, making it one of the largest marine turtles ever described. It was first named by Nathalie Bardet, Nour-Eddine Jalil, France de Lapparent de Broin, Damien Germain, Olivier Lambert and Mbarek Amaghzaz in 2013 and the type species is Ocepechelon bouyai. The feeding apparatus of Ocepechelon, a bony pipette-like snout, is unique among tetrapods and shares unique convergences with both syngnathid fishes (unique long tubular bony snout ending in a rounded and forward directed mouth) and beaked whales (large size and elongated edentulous jaws).^[1]

Phylogeny

Reconstruction

Below is a cladogram from the 2013 description of Ocepechelon by Bardet et al (2013). Numerous methods were used to assess it phylogenetic position. The removal of outgroup taxa, except the hypothetical taxon, resolved some relations and found Ocepechelon and Bouliachelys to be basal dermochelyoids in a polytomy with the Dermochelyidae and the Protostegidae. The inclusion of Chelomacryptodira resolved this polytomy, and found Ocepechelon to be the most basal dermochelyid.^[1]

Chelomacryptodira

Chelonioidea

Cheloniidae

†Toxochelys

†Ctenochelys

†Euclastes

	†Puppigerus

	Chelonia

Dermochelyoidae

†Bouliachelys

Protostegidae

†Santanachelys

†Notochelone

†Desmatochelys

	†Chelosphargis

	†Protostega

Dermochelyidae

†Ocepechelon

†Corsochelys

	†Mesodermochelys

	Dermochelys

References

1 2 Bardet, N.; Jalil, N. E.; De Lapparent De Broin, F.; Germain, D.; Lambert, O.; Amaghzaz, M. (2013). Viriot, Laurent, ed. "A Giant Chelonioid Turtle from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco with a Suction Feeding Apparatus Unique among Tetrapods". PLoS ONE. 8 (7): e63586. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063586.

Extinct turtles

Triassic period	Pappochelys Odontochelys Proganochelys

Jurassic period	Australochelys Basilochelys Caribemys Condorchelys Dinochelys Dorsetochelys Eileanchelys Eurysternum Hispaniachelys Kayentachelys Palaeomedusa Sinaspideretes Thalassemys Uluops

Cretaceous period	Allopleuron Atlantochelys Angolachelys Anomalochelys Araripemys Archelon Arvinachelys Bouliachelys Caririemys Cearachelys Chelosphargis Chupacabrachelys Compsemys Corsochelys Cratochelone Ctenochelys Desmatochelys Emarginachelys Foxemys Gigantatypus Gilmoremys Glyptops Jiangxichelys Kallokibotion Kinkonychelys Kirgizemys Khunnuchelys Kurmademys Liaochelys Lomalatachelys Notochelone Ocepechelon Pappigerus Paracryptodira Patagoniaemys Polysternon Pleurosternon Prochelidella Protostega Protostegidae Pneumatoarthrus Sankuchemys Santanachelys Sinemys Terlinguachelys Toxochelys Trionyx kansaiensis Yaminuechelys

Paleogene and Neogene period	Acherontemys Allaeochelys Anosteira Arabemys Argillochelys Aurorachelys Baenidae Berruchelus Carbonemys Carolinochelys Cedrobaena Cerrejonemys Chelodina murrayi Chelydrops Chelydropsis Chisternon Cosmochelys Crossochelys Elseya uberrima Elseya nadibajagu Eochelone Eosphargis Euclastes Gamerabaena Glarichelys Hadrianus Hesperotestudo Hutchemys Itilochelys Kinosternon pojoaque Macrocephalochelys Manchurochelys Meiolania Meiolaniidae Megalochelys Mesodermochelys Mexichelys Miocaretta Niolamia Ninjemys Pacifichelys Palaeotrionyx Palatobaena Parahydraspis Peckemys Planiplastron Plesiobaena Procolpochelys Protochelydra Protosphargis Psephophorus Puppigerus Rheodytes devisi Stupendemys Stylemys Syllomus Warkalania

Recent	Cylindraspis species: Domed Mauritius giant tortoise Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise Réunion giant tortoise Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise Aldabrachelys abrupta Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii (Lonesome George)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.