Palaeoamyda
| Trionyx messelianus Temporal range:
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| Trionyx messelianus from Messel Pit Fossil Site at the Naturmuseum Senckenberg | |
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| Species: | T. messelianus
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| Tryonyx messelianus Reinach 1900
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Trionyx messelianus is an extinct species of softshell turtle belonging to the family Trionychidae. These turtles lived in the Middle Eocene. Whether the various specimen found at the Messel Pit Fossil Site can be classified within the genus Trionyx is uncertain. Some authors believe that Trionyx messelianus from Messel should be considered synonym of Rafetoides austriacus (Peters, 1858), see Karl (1998).
Description
Trionyx messelianus is a three-clawed soft-shell turtle that can reach a length of about two feet. It is the largest species of turtles of Messel Pit Fossil Site. The carapace and plastron are not connected by bony prominences and the plastron shows bony plates reduced to small protrusions.
References
- H.-V. Karl - Zur Taxonomie der känozoischen Weichschildkröten Österreichs und Deutschlands (Trionychidae: Trionychinae).- Mitt. Geol. Und Paläont. Landesmuseum Joanneum, 56: 273- 328; Graz (1998).
- M. Morlo, S. Schaal, G. Mayr, C. Seiffert - Annotated taxonomic list of the Middle Eocene Vertebrata of Messel (2004)
- Colin Tudge Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor
- Natuur informatie
- Hans-Volker Karl Jurnal Article
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