Early Differentiation of Mesozoic Turtles

Abstract

Panpleurodiran clade Platychelyidae extends from the Oxfordian to the Valanginian of Cuba, South America, and Europe. The oldest member of Platychelyidae was recovered from the Oxfordian of Cuba. The Upper Jurassic record is represented in Europe by only one Kimmeridgian–Tithonian species and in South America by two species. A shallow marine connection between the Western Tethys and Eastern Pacific through central Pangaea was present since the beginning of the Jurassic and acted as a corridor for numerous pelagic reptile groups as the panpleurodiran turtles. Stem turtles (i.e., stem Testudines) from the Late Triassic until the Middle Jurassic have had a Pangaean distribution, and they are known from all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Two species are recognized in South America: the Late Triassic Palaeochersis talampayensis and the Middle Jurassic Condorchelys antiqua.