New 96 million-year-old fossil represents oldest side-necked turtle in North America

[Still Waters]

The discovery of a new species of ancient turtle is shedding light on hard-to-track reptile migrations about 100 million years ago. Pleurochayah appalachius, a bothremydid turtle adapted for coastal life, is described in a new paper published by a multi-institution research group in the journal Scientific Reports.

P. appalachius was discovered at the Arlington Archosaur Site (AAS) of Texas, which preserves the remnants of an ancient Late Cretaceous river delta that once existed in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and is also known for discoveries of fossil crocodyliformes and dinosaurs. P. appalachius belonged to an extinct lineage of pleurodiran (side-necked) turtles referred to as the Bothremydidae, a diverse and geographically widespread clade that occupied a wide range of ecological niches.

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-million-year-old-fossil-oldest-side-necked-turtle.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-88905-1