Axestemys

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Axestemys
Temporal range: Campanian–Bridgerian
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Trionychidae FBNM.jpg
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Family: Trionychidae
Subfamily: Trionychinae
Genus: †Axestemys
Hay, 1899
Species
  • †A. byssina (Cope, 1872)
  • †A. cerevisia Vitek, 2012
  • †A. montinsana Vitek, 2012
  • †A. quinni (Schmidt, 1945)
  • †A. splendida (Hay, 1908)
  • †A. vittata (Pomel, 1847)
Synonyms
  • Axestus Cope, 1872
  • Conchochelys Hay, 1905
  • Eurycephalochelys Moody & Walker, 1970
  • Paleotrionyx Schmidt, 1945

Axestemys is an extinct genus of softshell turtle that lived from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene in western North America and Europe.

Axestemys, like its modern relatives, had no scutes on its carapace, which probably had leathery, pliable skin at the sides. Despite living several million years ago, Axestemys would have looked very similar to its modern relatives, with a long neck, a sharp beak, and three toes on each foot.[1] All species of Axestemys grew to a large size, especially A. byssina, that could reach a total length of 2 metres (79 in) or more, being larger than any modern day species of softshell turtle.[2] Based on the diet of modern softshell turtles, it was an omnivore, eating water plants, invertebrates, and perhaps small fish.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 69. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  2. ^ Grande, Lance (14 June 2013). The Lost World of Fossil Lake: Snapshots from Deep Time. ISBN 9780226922966.

Further reading[]


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