Concept
Odontochelys
Related concepts (6)
Turtle shell
The turtle shell is a shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles (the order Testudines), completely enclosing all the vital organs of the turtle and in some cases even the head. It is constructed of modified bony elements such as the ribs, parts of the pelvis and other bones found in most reptiles. The bone of the shell consists of both skeletal and dermal bone, showing that the complete enclosure of the shell likely evolved by including dermal armor into the rib cage.
Eunotosaurus
Eunotosaurus (Latin: Stout-backed lizard) is an extinct genus of amniote, possibly a close relative of turtles. Eunotosaurus lived in the late Middle Permian (Capitanian stage) and fossils can be found in the Karoo Supergroup of South Africa. Eunotosaurus resided in the swamps of southern Africa. Its ribs were wide and flat, forming broad plates similar to a primitive turtle shell, and the vertebrae were nearly identical to those of some turtles. Accordingly, it is often considered as a possible transitional fossil between turtles and their prehistoric ancestors.
Pappochelys
Pappochelys (παπποχέλυς [πάππος (grandfather) + χέλυς (turtle)] meaning "grandfather turtle" in Greek) is an extinct genus of diapsid reptile possibly related to turtles. The genus contains only one species, Pappochelys rosinae, from the Middle Triassic of Germany, which was named by paleontologists de and Hans-Dieter Sues in 2015. The discovery of Pappochelys provides strong support for the placement of turtles within Diapsida, a hypothesis that has long been suggested by molecular data, but never previously by the fossil record.
Tortoise
Tortoises (ˈtɔːr.təs.ᵻz) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: tortoise). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like other members of the suborder Cryptodira, they retract their necks and heads directly backward into the shell to protect them. Tortoises can vary in size with some species, such as the Galápagos giant tortoise, growing to more than in length, whereas others like the Speckled cape tortoise have shells that measure only long.
Turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked turtles), which differ in the way the head retracts. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling tortoises and freshwater terrapins. They are found on most continents, some islands and, in the case of sea turtles, much of the ocean.
Reptile
Reptiles, in common parlance, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic ('cold-blooded') metabolism and amniotic development. Living reptiles comprise four orders: Testudines (turtles), Crocodilia (crocodilians), Squamata (lizards and snakes), and Rhynchocephalia (the tuatara). As of May 2023, about 12,000 living species of reptiles are listed in the Reptile Database. The study of the traditional reptile orders, customarily in combination with the study of modern amphibians, is called herpetology.