Corsochelys Explained

Corsochelys is an extinct genus of sea turtle that lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian). Zangerl (1960) named the type species (and currently only species; C. haliniches), based upon remains found in Alabama within the Mooreville Chalk Formation (the lower part of the Selma Group).^[1]

Description

Corsochelys is a basal dermochelyid.^[1] As with other basal chelonioids (such as Santanachelys and Toxochelys), Corsochelys possesses a large foramen interorbitale with a narrow processus inferior parietalis, which indicates that the genus possessed salt-excreting lachrymal glands.^[2] In addition to its similarly to these genera, Corsochelys retains a carapace with minimally reduced coastal plates.^[3] Like the larger Archelon, Corsochelys had channels penetrating the subphyseal plate from bone into the cartilage above,^[4] much like the living leatherback turtle. This means that Corsochelys would have reached their large size quickly through fast skeletal growth, as with the leatherback.^[4]

Recently, a dermochelyid that closely resembles Corsochelys was found in the Maastrichtian deposits of the Ouled Abdoun phosphate basin, Morocco.^[5]

Suggested further reading

• The Biology of Sea Turtles by Peter L. Lutz and John A. Musick
• Biology of Turtles by Jeanette Wyneken, Matthew H. Godfrey, and Vincent Bels

External links

• Corsochelys in the Paleobiology Database

Notes and References

1. Hiryana R. 1997. Distribution and diversity of Cretaceous chelonioids. In: Ancient Marine Reptiles (eds.) Callaway JM, Nicholls EL. Academic Press. pp. 225-241.
2. http://ww2.coastal.edu/msci302/ST-evol1.pdf Hiryana R. 1998. Oldest known sea turtle. Nature 392:705-708.
3. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3790/is_200411/ai_n9461510/pg_16 2004. Lehman TM, Tomlinson SL. 2004. Terlinguachelys fischbecki, a new genus and species of sea turtle (Chelonioidea: Protostegidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Texas. Journal of Paleontology 78(6): 1163-1178
4. http://www.chelonian.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Snover_and_Rhodin_2007.pdf Snover ML, Rhodin AGL. 2007. Comparative ontogenetic and phylogenetic aspects of chelonian chondro-osseous growth and skeletochronology. In: Wyneken J, Godfrey M, Mels V. (eds.). The biology of turtles. USA: CRC Press pp. 17-43.
5. http://www.ville-ge.ch/mhng/paleo/divers/paleovs9.pdf Tong H, Hirayama R. 2004. First Cretaceous dermochelyid turtle from Africa. Revue de Paléobiologie, Genève 9: 55-59.