Pleurosternidae is an extinct family of freshwater turtles belonging to Paracryptodira.[1] They are definitively known from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Albian) of Western Europe and North America.[2]
| Pleurosternids Temporal range:
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| Pleurosternon skull | |
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| Pleurosternon shell | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Pantestudines |
| Clade: | Testudinata |
| Clade: | †Paracryptodira |
| Superfamily: | †Baenoidea |
| Family: | †Pleurosternidae Cope, 1868 |
Genera
editValid taxa
edit- Dinochelys[3] Morrison Formation, United States, Late Jurassic (Tithonian)
- Dorsetochelys[3] Purbeck Group, England, Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Bückeberg Formation, Germany, Berriasian
- Glyptops[3] Morrison Formation, United States, Late Jurassic (Tithonian)
- Pleurosternon[3] Purbeck Group, England, Early Cretaceous (Berriasian), Ágreda locality, Spain, Tithonian-Berriasian, France, Tithonian-Berriasian
- Riodevemys[3] Villar del Arzobispo Formation, Spain, Late Jurassic (Tithonian)
- Selenemys[3] Lourinhã Formation, Portugal, Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian)
- Toremys[3] Escucha Formation, Spain, Early Cretaceous (Albian)
Uluops from the Late Jurassic of North America may also belong to Pleurosternidae.[2]
Invalid taxa
editEcology
editThe high morphological diversity of skulls of the group suggests high ecological plasticity. Glyptops and Pleurosternon exhibit adaptions likely for suction feeding, while Dorsteochelys was likely a dietary generalist.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Pleurosternidae". Fossilworks. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- ^ a b c Joyce, Walter G.; Anquetin, Jérémy (October 2019). "A Review of the Fossil Record of Nonbaenid Turtles of the Clade Paracryptodira". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 60 (2): 129–155. doi:10.3374/014.060.0204. ISSN 0079-032X.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Pleurosternidae". Fossilworks. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
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