Updated cranial and mandibular description of the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) baenid turtle Saxochelys gilberti based on micro-computed tomography scans and new information on the holotype-shell association.

Autor: Spicher GE; Departement of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.; Institute of Geosciences, Section Paleontology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany., Lyson TR; Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO USA., Evers SW; Departement of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Swiss journal of palaeontology [Swiss J Palaeontol] 2024; Vol. 143 (1), pp. 2. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jan 23.
DOI: 10.1186/s13358-023-00301-6
Abstrakt: Saxochelys gilberti is a baenid turtle from the Late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of the United States of America known from cranial, shell, and other postcranial material. Baenid turtles are taxonomically diverse and common fossil elements within Late Cretaceous through Eocene faunas. Detailed anatomical knowledge is critical to understanding the systematics and morphological evolution of the group. This is particularly important as baenids represent an important group of continental vertebrates that survived the mass extinction event associated with the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. High-resolution micro-computed tomography scanning of the holotype skull reveals additional anatomical details for the already well-known Saxochelys gilberti . This includes the revision of some anatomical statements from the original description, but also detailed knowledge on internal anatomical features of the braincase and the description of a well-preserved axis (cervical vertebra 2). Our new detailed description and previous work on the shell and postcrania make Saxochelys one of the best-described, nearly complete baenid turtles, which are often only known from either isolated shell or cranial material. A revised phylogenetic analysis confirms the position of Saxochelys gilberti as a derived baenid (Eubaeninae) more closely related to Baena arenosa than to Eubaena cephalica .
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13358-023-00301-6.
Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.
(© The Author(s) 2024.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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