Rhinochelys

Rhinochelys Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil of Rhinochelys nammourensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Protostegidae
Genus:	Rhinochelys Seeley, 1869

Rhinochelys is an extinct genus of sea turtles belonging to the family Protostegidae (sometimes placed by some authors in the family Desmatochelyidae).^[1]

Fossil records

Fossils of species within this genus have been found in the upper Cretaceous of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Lebanon (age range: 99.7 to 89.3 million years ago).^[2]

Species

Species within this genus include:^[3]

• Rhinochelys pulchriceps, (Owen, 1851)
• Rhinochelys benstedi
• Rhinochelys nammourensis, Haiyan Tong, Ren Hirayama, Edouard Makhoul and François Escuillie, 2006^[4]

Bibliography

• Hirayama, R., 1997: Distribution and diversity of Cretaceous chelonioids. 225-243. in Callaway, J. M. & Nicholls, E. L., (eds.), 1997: Ancient marine reptiles. Academic Press, San Diego, London, Boston, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, 1997, pp. xlvi - 501
• Moody, R. T. J., 1997: The paleogeography of marine and coastal turtles of the North Atlantic and Trans-Saharan regions. 259-278 in Callaway, J. M. & Nicholls, E. L., (eds.) 1997: Ancient Marine Reptiles. Academic Press, San Diego, London, Boston, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, 1997, xlvi-501

References

1. Collins, J. I. 1972. The chelonian Rhinochelys Seeley from the Upper Cretaceous of England and France. Palaeontolgy 13 : 355 -378
2. Paleobiology Database
3. Hirayama, R. 1994. Phylogenetic systematic of chelonioid sea turtles. The Island Arc 3 : 270 – 284
4. Haiyan Tong, Hirayama R., Makhoul, E. & Escuillie F. 2006. Rhinochelys (Chelonioidea : Protostegidae) from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Nammoura, Lebanon. Atti della società italiana di scienze naturali e del museo civico di storia naturale di Milano 147 (1) : 113 – 138