Allaeochelys Temporal range: | |
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Allaeochelys crassesculptata | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Family: | Carettochelyidae |
Tribe: | † Allaeochelyini |
Genus: | † Allaeochelys Noulet, 1867 |
Species | |
A. carasecai |
Allaeochelys is an extinct genus of Carettochelyid turtle, known from the Eocene to Miocene of Europe, Asia, North America and Africa.
Fossils of the species Allaeochelys crassesculpta have been found in the Messel Pit near Darmstadt, Germany in pairs fossilised in the coital position.
It is believed to be the only example in the fossil record of vertebrates mating.
Dr Walter Joyce of the University of Tübingen said that "We've demonstrated quite clearly that each pair is a male and a female, and not, for example, just two males that might have died in combat....People had long speculated they might have died while mating, but that's quite different from actually showing it." [1]
After [2]
The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, Anhinga. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term snakebird is usually used without any additions to signify whichever of the completely allopatric species occurs in any one region. It refers to their long thin neck, which has a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged, or when mated pairs twist it during their bonding displays. "Darter" is used with a geographical term when referring to particular species. It alludes to their manner of procuring food, as they impale fishes with their thin, pointed beak. The American darter is more commonly known as the anhinga. It is sometimes called "water turkey" in the southern United States; though the anhinga is quite unrelated to the wild turkey, they are both large, blackish birds with long tails that are sometimes hunted for food.
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Carettochelyidae is a family of cryptodiran turtles belonging to the Trionychia. It contains only a single living species, the pig-nosed turtle native to New Guinea and Northern Australia. Stem-group carettochelyids are known from the Cretaceous of Asia, with the family being widely distributed across North America, Europe and Asia during the Paleogene.
Podocnemididae is a family of pleurodire (side-necked) turtles, once widely distributed. Most of its 20 genera and 30 species are now extinct. Seven of its eight surviving species are native to South America: the genus Peltocephalus, with only one species ; and the genus Podocnemis, with six living species of South American side-necked river turtles. There is also one genus native to Madagascar: Erymnochelys, the Madagascan big-headed turtle, whose single species E. madagascariensis.
The Messel Pit is a disused quarry near the village of Messel about 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Bituminous shale was mined there. Because of its abundance of fossils, it has significant geological and scientific importance. After almost becoming a landfill, strong local resistance eventually stopped these plans and the Messel Pit was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 9 December 1995. Significant scientific discoveries are still being made and the site has increasingly become a tourist site as well.
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Palaeochiropteryx is an extinct genus of bat from the Middle Eocene of Europe. It contains two very similar species – Palaeochiropteryx tupaiodon and Palaeochiropteryx spiegeli, both from the famous Messel Pit of Germany. They are usually found complete and exceptionally preserved, even retaining the outlines of their fur, ears, and wing membranes.
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Iberosuchus is a genus of extinct sebecosuchian mesoeucrocodylian found in Western Europe from the Eocene. Remains from Portugal was described in 1975 by Antunes as a sebecosuchian crocodilian. This genus has one species: I. macrodon. Iberosuchus was a carnivore, unlike the crocodilians today, they are not aquatic and are instead terrestrial.
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The Balumtun Sandstone is a geologic formation in Chiapas, Mexico. The formation is up to 760 metres thick, and consists of gray sandstone, that were deposited during the Upper Aquitanian stage of the Early Miocene.
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This list of fossil reptiles described in 2021 is a list of new taxa of fossil reptiles that were described during the year 2021, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to reptile paleontology that occurred in 2021.
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