Corsochelys

Corsochelys is an extinct genus of sea turtle that lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian). Zangerl (1960) named the type species (and currently only species; C. haliniches), based upon remains found in Alabama within the Mooreville Chalk Formation (the lower part of the Selma Group).[1]

Corsochelys
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Chelonioidea
Family: Dermochelyidae
Genus: Corsochelys
Zangerl, 1960
Type species
C. halinches

Description

Corsochelys is a basal dermochelyid.[1] As with other basal chelonioids (such as Santanachelys and Toxochelys), Corsochelys possesses a large foramen interorbitale with a narrow processus inferior parietalis, which indicates that the genus possessed salt-excreting lachrymal glands.[2] In addition to its similarly to these genera, Corsochelys retains a carapace with minimally reduced coastal plates.[3] Like the larger Archelon, Corsochelys had channels penetrating the subphyseal plate from bone into the cartilage above,[4] much like the living leatherback turtle. This means that Corsochelys would have reached their large size quickly through fast skeletal growth, as with the leatherback.[4]

Recently, a dermochelyid that closely resembles Corsochelys was found in the Maastrichtian deposits of the Ouled Abdoun phosphate basin, Morocco.[5]

References

Suggested further reading

  • The Biology of Sea Turtles by Peter L. Lutz and John A. Musick
  • Biology of Turtles by Jeanette Wyneken, Matthew H. Godfrey, and Vincent Bels
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