Cannabaceae

Prionochelys
Temporal range: Santonian–Campanian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Genus: Prionochelys
Species:
P. matutina
Binomial name
Prionochelys matutina
Zangerl, 1953

Prionochelys is an extinct genus of pancheloniid from the Mooreville Chalk and Eutaw Formations of Alabama. It consists of a single species, P. matutina.[1]

Taxonomy[edit]

Prionochelys was originally assigned to the family Toxochelyidae.[1] A 2018 paper found it to be on the stem of Cheloniidae, the family to which most modern sea turtles belong, forming a monophyletic grouping with Ctenochelys and Peritresius.[2] In 2019, Gentry et al. assigned Prionochelys to the extinct Ctenochelyidae family. A cladogram from their analysis:[3]

References[edit]

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