| Kayentachelys Temporal range: Early Jurassic 196.5–183.0 Ma |
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| Life restoration | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Pantestudines |
| Clade: | Testudinata |
| Genus: | †Kayentachelys Gaffney et al., 1987 |
| Species: | † K. aprix |
| Binomial name | |
| Kayentachelys aprix Gaffney et al., 1987 |
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Kayentachelys ("Kayenta shell") is an extinct genus of stem-turtle from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of northern Arizona.[1] Kayentachelys was about 0.5 m (1.6 ft) wide and 0.6 m (2.0 ft) in length. It lived in an environment dominated by streams and dunes.
Classification[edit]
Kayentachelys was originally grouped as a primitive cryptodire and part of its own family, Kayentachelyidae. Below is the classification of Kayentachelys within Cryptodira:[1] However, later analysis showed that it was more likely to be a primitive testudinatan outside the group containing living turtles.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Gaffney, E.S.; Hutchinson, J.H.; Jenkins, F.A Jr.; Meeker, L.J. (1987). "Modern Turtle Origins; The Oldest Known Cryptodire" (PDF). Science 237 (4812): 289–291. doi:10.1126/science.237.4812.289. PMID 17772056.
- ^ Anquetin, J. R. M. (2012). "Reassessment of the phylogenetic interrelationships of basal turtles (Testudinata)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10: 3. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.558928.