Concept
Pappochelys
Related concepts (4)
Odontochelys
Odontochelys semitestacea (meaning "toothed turtle with a half-shell") is a Late Triassic relative of turtles. Before Pappochelys was discovered and Eunotosaurus was redescribed, Odontochelys was considered the oldest undisputed member of Pantestudines (i.e. a stem-turtle). It is the only known species in the genus Odontochelys and the family Odontochelyidae. Odontochelys semitestacea was first described from three 200-million-year-old specimens excavated in Triassic deposits in Guizhou, China.
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.
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.
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.