Tacuarembemys

Tacuarembemys
Temporal range: Late Jurassic,
~155–151 Ma
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Pantestudines
Clade: Testudinata
Order: Testudines
Genus: Tacuarembemys
Perea et al., 2014
Species:
T. kusterae
Binomial name
Tacuarembemys kusterae
Perea et al., 2014

Tacuarembemys ("Tacuarembó turtle") is an extinct genus of continental turtle from South America. It contains a single species, T. kusterae. The genus was described based on the external mold of a carapace and associated shell bone fragments found near the city of Tacuarembó, Uruguay. This fossil was found on the Tacuarembó Formation, whose estimated age ranges from late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous.

It is the first turtle to be discovered in South American continental deposits of that age, and shows a unique combination of traits (shared and derived), who allows the recognition of this fossil as a new genus. Despite that, more remains are needed to clarify its phylogenetic relationships. The estimated length of carapace is 18 cm.

The histology of its plates, a shell that is dorsoventrally low, and the paleoenvironment proposed for the Tacuarembó Formation (permanent and temporary streams and lakes), support the ecology of this genus as semiaquatic and mainly aquatic turtles.


This page was last updated at 2023-11-25 16:12 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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