A Triassic stem turtle with an edentulous beak.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30135526.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41586-018-0419-1.
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Abstract
The early evolution of turtles continues to be a contentious issue in vertebrate palaeontology. Recent reports have suggested that they are diapsids<sup>1-6</sup>, but the position of turtles within Diapsida is controversial<sup>7-12</sup> and the sequence of acquisition of turtle synapomorphies remains unclear<sup>1-3</sup>. Here we describe a Triassic turtle from China that has a mixture of derived characters and plesiomorphic features. To our knowledge, it represents the earliest known stem turtle with an edentulous beak and a rigid puboischiadic plate. The discovery of this new form reveals a complex early history of turtles.
Medical subject headings
- Beak
- Phylogeny
- Turtles