A Triassic stem turtle with an edentulous beak

Chun Li (), Nicholas C. Fraser, Olivier Rieppel and Xiao-Chun Wu ()
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Chun Li: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences
Nicholas C. Fraser: National Museums Scotland
Olivier Rieppel: Field Museum of Natural History
Xiao-Chun Wu: Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa

Nature, 2018, vol. 560, issue 7719, 476-479

Abstract: Abstract The early evolution of turtles continues to be a contentious issue in vertebrate palaeontology. Recent reports have suggested that they are diapsids1–6, but the position of turtles within Diapsida is controversial7–12 and the sequence of acquisition of turtle synapomorphies remains unclear1–3. 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.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0419-1

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