Chelus Temporal range: | |
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Chelus fimbriatus | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Pleurodira |
Family: | Chelidae |
Subfamily: | Chelinae |
Genus: | Chelus Duméril, 1805 [2] |
Chelus is a genus of large freshwater turtles found in tropical South America. Formerly considered to be a monotypic genus, [3] it now consists of two extant species after Chelus orinocensis was identified in 2020 from a genetic analysis. [4]
Fossils of the extinct † C. colombianus have been found in Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil, including a skull dating to the early Miocene (~ 16 m.y.) of the Castilletes Formation, Cocinetas Basin, in Colombia. The fossil shows that the skull morphology of Chelus has been almost unchanged since the Miocene. [5] [6]
There are two extant recognized species in this genus [3] [7] and one extinct species: [1]