Acta Palaeontologica Polonica

New data on lindholmemydid turtle Lindholmemys from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia

Igor G. Danilov and Vladimir B. Sukhanov

Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 46 (1), 2001: 125-131

Reinvestigation of a fragmentary lindholmemydid turtle from a Mongolian locality Sheeregeen Gashoon (late Turonian-Santonian) suggested reassignment to Lindholmemys martinsoni Ckhikvadze, 1975. This restricts the stratigraphic range of the genus Mongolemys, to which the specimen was originally assigned. Additionally, new morphological data on L. martinsoni have been gathered and are presented in this paper. The Lindholmemydidae are considered here as a paraphyletic group uniting primitive testudinoids (all of which are known from Cretaceous to Paleocene of Asia). Their shell morphology is characterized by well developed plastral buttresses, which contact costal bones (synapomorphy of testudinoids, see Gaffney & Meylan 1988) and by complete (uninterrupted) row of inframarginal scutes (primitive character).

Igor G. Danilov [dig @ herpet.zin. ras.spb. ru ], Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia; Vladimir B. Sukhanov, Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya ul. 123, 11 7647 Moscow, Russia


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