Neochelys

Neochelys Temporal range: Early to Late Eocene [1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
N. franzeni specimens at the Senckenberg Museum
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Pleurodira
Family:	Podocnemididae
Subfamily:	Erymnochelyinae
Genus:	† Neochelys Bergounioux, 1954
Type species
† Emys capellinii de Zigno, 1890
Species
See text

Neochelys (Greek for "new turtle") is an extinct genus of freshwater side-necked turtle that inhabited Europe during the Eocene. It was a diverse genus known throughout western and southern Europe from the Ypresian to the Priabonian. ^[1]

Taxonomy

The following species are known: ^{[1] [2]}

• †N. arenarumde Broin, 1977 – early-mid Ypresian of France (Lignites de Soissonais) ^[3]
• †N. capellinii(de Zigno, 1890) (type species) – latest Ypresian or earliest Lutetian of Italy (Monte Bolca) (= Emys capellinii)
• †N. eocaenica(de Stefano, 1902) – latest Ypresian or earliest Lutetian of France (Grès d'Aigne Formation)
• †N. franzeniSchleich, 1993 – early Lutetian of Germany (Messel Formation) ^[4]
• †N. laurentiTong, 1998 – mid-late Ypresian of France (Saint-Papoul Formation) ^[5]
• †N. liriaePérez-García & de Broin, 2013 – mid-late Ypresian of France (Grès d'Assignan Formation)
• †N. salmanticensisJimenez, 1971 – Bartonian of Spain (=Podocnemis carbajosai) ^[6]
• †N. zamorensisJimenez-Fuentes, 1992 – late Lutetian of Spain (Entrala Formation)

Well-preserved specimens of N. franzeni are known from the Messel Formation

Indeterminate remains are known from the latest Eocene (Priabonian) of France and Spain; these have not been assigned to a specific species, but represent the youngest record of the genus. ^[1] The species "N." fajumensis from the Oligocene of Egypt was briefly assigned to this genus, but is now thought to belong to its own genus, Shetwemys . ^[7]

Morphological analyses suggest that Neochelys likely represents an ancient lineage of the Erymnochelyinae, sister to the clade composed of the South American Peltocephalus and the Malagasy Erymnochelys . ^[4] The taxonomic relationships between the multiple Neochelys species remain largely unknown. It has been suggested that N. eocaenica, N. capellinii, and N. salmanticensis together form a species complex known as the "N. eocaenica complex", but this is uncertain. ^[1]

Ecology

A pathological Neochelys shell is known from the middle Eocene of Spain, hosting abnormalities that were previously thought to be the result of a crocodile attack. However, more recent studies instead suggest that these may instead occurred from parasites or a bacterial/fungal infection. ^[8]

References

1. Pérez-García, Adán; de Lapparent de Broin, France (2013-06-01). "A new species of Neochelys (Chelonii, Podocnemididae) from the Ypresian (Early Eocene) of the South of France" . Comptes Rendus Palevol. 12 (5): 269–277. Bibcode:2013CRPal..12..269P. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2013.05.011.
2. "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
3. Martín-Jiménez, Marcos; Pérez-García, Adán (2023-03-28). "Neuroanatomical study of the podocnemidid turtle Neochelys arenarum (Pleurodira), from the early Eocene of France". The Anatomical Record. 308 (6): 1646–1658. doi: 10.1002/ar.25217 . ISSN   1932-8486. PMC   12062562 . PMID   36974769.
4. Cadena, Edwin (2015-08-27). "A global phylogeny of Pelomedusoides turtles with new material of Neochelys franzeni Schleich, 1993 (Testudines, Podocnemididae) from the middle Eocene, Messel Pit, of Germany". PeerJ. 3: e1221. doi: 10.7717/peerj.1221 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   4556147 . PMID   26336649.
5. Pérez-García, Adán; de Lapparent de Broin, France (2015-12-01). "New insights into the anatomy and systematic of 'Papoulemys' laurenti, a representative of Neochelys (Chelonii, Podocnemididae) from the early Eocene of the south of France" . Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 89 (4): 901–923. Bibcode:2015PalZ...89..901P. doi:10.1007/s12542-015-0259-3.
6. Pérez-García, Adán; Guerrero, Andrea; Martín de Jesús, Santiago; Ortega, Francisco (2023-04-18). "Shell characterization of the youngest valid species of the European Eocene genus Neochelys (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae): The Spanish Bartonian Neochelys salmanticensis". The Anatomical Record. 308 (6): 1553–1572. doi: 10.1002/ar.25225 . ISSN   1932-8486. PMC   12062568 . PMID   37072560.
7. Gaffney, Eugene S.; Meylan, Peter Andre; Wood, Roger Conant; Simons, Elwyn L.; Campos, Diógenes de Almeida (2011). "Evolution of the side-necked turtles: the family Podocnemididae". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 350: 1–237. doi:10.1206/350.1. hdl:2246/6110.
8. Guerrero, Andrea; Ortega, Francisco; Martín de Jesús, Santiago; Pérez-García, Adán (March 2023). "Analysis of the anomalies in a Middle Eocene shell of Neochelys (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae) from the Duero Basin (Zamora, Spain)". Diversity. 15 (3): 314. Bibcode:2023Diver..15..314G. doi: 10.3390/d15030314 .