Fontainechelon

Fontainechelon Temporal range: Early Eocene (Early Ypresian)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	† Fontainechelon Pérez-García et. al., 2016

Fontainechelon is an extinct genus of testudinid from Saint Papoul, France during the Early Eocene. It is known from a single species, F. cassouleti. ^[1]

Fontainechelon is the oldest European testudinid, and the most basal of all testudinids. ^{[1] [2]}

Etymology

It was named after Jean de La Fontaine, alluding to some of his fables in which the protagonist was a tortoise.

Taxonomy

Fontainechelon cassouleti was historically considered a species of Achilemys. The genus Achilemys is now restricted to North America. ^[1] Fontainechelon was found to be the most basal of all testudinids. ^{[1] [2]}

Description

The species is known primarily from the holotype, which includes a partial carapace, a complete plastron, the right humerus, and the left femur. There are also several highly fragmentary referred specimens. The holotype had an estimated shell length of 37 cm. ^[1]

References

1. Pérez-García, Adán; Ortega, Francisco; Jiménez Fuentes, Emiliano (July 2016). "Taxonomy, systematics, and diversity of the European oldest testudinids". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 177 (3): 648–675. doi:10.1111/zoj.12381 . Retrieved 3 October 2024– via Oxford Academic.
2. Chroust, Milan; Szczygielski, Tomasz; Luján, Àngel H. (2025-10-03). "Manouria morla sp. nov., the Ancient One: an Early Miocene large tortoise from the Swamps of Ahníkov, Czechia". Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 144 (1): 63. doi: 10.1186/s13358-025-00400-6 . ISSN   1664-2384.