The first Jurassic turtle from India

Abstract

A primitive cryptodiran turtle, Indochelys spatulata gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Early Jurassic Kota Formation, a member of the Upper Gondwana Group in the Pranhita-Godavari Valley, Deccan, India. The shell morphology of Indochelys differs substantially from that of the Triassic Proganochelys of Germany but is significantly similar to the oldest known Early Jurassic cryptodire, Kayentachelys, from the Kayenta Formation of Arizona. Indochelys also shares many shell characters with the Late Jurassic North American turtles, in particular Dinochelys. The new family Indochelyidae is proposed, which probably has the same phyletic status as that of Kayentachelyidae, with both evolving simultaneously in different regions.