Arenila

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Arenila
Temporal range: Maastrichtian
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Pleurodira
Family: Bothremydidae
Clade: Bothremydodda
Tribe: Taphrosphyini
Genus: Arenila
De Broin & Werner, 1998
Species:
A. krebsi
Binomial name
Arenila krebsi
De Broin & Werner, 1998

Arenila is an extinct genus of bothremydid [1] pleurodiran turtle that was discovered in the Western Desert of Egypt. The genus consists solely of type species A. krebsi. [2]

Contents

Discovery

Arenila was discovered in the Ammonite Hill Member of the Dakhla Formation, Egypt, which dates back to the Maastrichtian. [2] [3]

Description

The holotype of Arenila is a partial skull. Most of the prefrontal is preserved on the skull's left side, but lacks the anterior margin, while the right side is completely missing. The sutures are clearly visible, with the bone edges being slightly displaced. The prefrontal is broken by a parasagittal crack running from the frontal suture to the eroded edge of the prefrontal.

Etymology

The generic name of Arenila is derived from the Latin arena "sand". [2]

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References

  1. "Fossilworks: Arenila". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 F. Lapparent de Broin and C. Werner. 1998. New Late Cretaceous turtles from the Western Desert, Egypt. Annales de Paléontologie 84(2):131-214
  3. E. S. Gaffney, H. Tong, and P. A. Meylan. 2006. Evolution of the side-necked turtles: The families Bothremydidae, Euraxemydidae, and Araripemydidae. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 300:1-318