Hylaeochelys Explained

Hylaeochelys is an extinct genus of plesiochelyid turtle that lived during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous in Portugal, Spain, France, and southern England. The type species was originally named by Richard Owen as Pleurosternon latiscutatum in 1853,^[1] before being moved to the new genus Hylaeochelys by Richard Lydekker in 1889.^[2] Other species included in the genus are H. belli,^[3] H. kappa^[4] and H. lata, originally named under different genera by Gideon Mantell and Owen, respectively. All species are represented by carapaces, primarily from the Lulworth Formation of the Purbeck Limestone Group that was deposited during the Berriasian.^[5]

Notes and References

1. R. Owen. 1853. Part I. A monograph on the fossil chelonian reptiles of the Wealden clays and Purbeck limestones. Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck Formations. Palaeontographical Society 7(25):1-12
2. R. Lydekker. 1889. On certain chelonian remains from the Wealden and Purbeck. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 45:511-518
3. R. Owen. 1842. Report on British fossil reptiles, part II. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 11:60-204
4. A. Pérez-García and F. Ortega. 2014. A new species of the turtle Hylaeochelys (Eucryptodira) outside its known geographic and stratigraphic ranges of distribution. Comptes Rendus Palevol 13(3):183-188
5. Milner. A.R.. 2004. The turtles of the Purbeck Limestone Group of Dorset, southern England. Palaeontology. 47. 6. 1441–1467. 10.1111/j.0031-0239.2004.00418.x. 2004Palgy..47.1441M .