Placochelys | |
---|---|
Restored Placochelys placodonta skull at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
Order: | †Placodontia |
Family: | †Placochelyidae |
Genus: | †Placochelys Jaekel, 1902 |
Placochelys (from Greek: plax, plakos, "plate" and Greek: chelys, "tortoise")[1] is an extinct genus of placodont reptiles erected by Otto Jaekel in 1902.
Fossils of Placochelys dates back to the Triassic period (age range: 221.5 to 205.6 million years ago). They have been found in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy.[2]
This genus includes only one species:
Placochelys looked remarkably similar to a sea turtle, and grew to about 90 centimetres (3.0 ft) in length. It had a flat turtle-like carapace covered with knobbly plates, and a compact triangular skull. Its beaked skull had powerful muscles. It had only two pairs of palatal teeth, a large posterior pair, and a small rostral pair. The specialized broad teeth on the palate, were most likely used for crushing shellfish and hard-shelled prey. Its limbs were paddle-shaped for swimming, although, unlike modern sea turtles, they still had discernable toes, and it also had a short tail.[3]