Neochelys, Bergounioux, 1954

Pérez-García, Adán, Guerrero, Andrea, Jesús, Santiago Martín de & Ortega, Francisco, 2024, Shell anatomy and intraspecific variability of the Spanish Lutetian podocnemidid turtle Neochelys zamorensis, Palaeontologia Electronica (a 28) 27 (2), pp. 1-50 : 9-13

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.26879/1388
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/7746DF36-FFDB-FF8C-B417-2FDF7545FECB
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Neochelys
status

Treatment

Neochelys zamorensis Jiménez Fuentes, 1993

Figures 2-13 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 View FIGURE 6 View FIGURE 7 View FIGURE 8 View FIGURE 9 View FIGURE 10 View FIGURE 11 View FIGURE 12 View FIGURE 13

Synonymy

‘ Neochelys’ zamorensis Arribas Moreno et al.

(1984), Jiménez Fuentes (1986) [nomen nudum]

Neochelys zamorensis nomen nudum Jiménez Fuentes et al. (1985) [nomen nudum]

Neochelys aff. arenarum Mulas and Alonso Gavilán (1987), Mulas Alonso et al. (1988), Jiménez Fuentes et al. (1991, 1992)

Neochelys zamorensis Jiménez Fuentes and Gil Tudanca (1993), Pérez-García and de Lapparent de Broin (2013, 2015), Pérez-García (2017), Ortega et al. (2022), Pérez-García et al. (2023)

Type material. The holotype, STUS 12121 , corresponding to an almost complete shell ( Figure 2 View FIGURE 2 AB) .

Referred material. A selection of 183 specimens,

both from the type locality ( Figure 2 View FIGURE 2 C-J) and from other outcrops of the same geological formation

(i.e., the Entrala Formation) and province (Zamora

Province) ( Figures 3-13 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 View FIGURE 6 View FIGURE 7 View FIGURE 8 View FIGURE 9 View FIGURE 10 View FIGURE 11 View FIGURE 12 View FIGURE 13 ), corresponding to relatively complete to partial shells, and isolated plates, including: both articulated carapacial and plastral elements ( Figures 2 View FIGURE 2 A-D, 2F-I, 3A-H), partial carapaces ( Figures 2E View FIGURE 2 , 4 View FIGURE 4 A-G, 5A-H), complete and partial plastra ( Figures 2J View FIGURE 2 , 6 View FIGURE 6 A-F, 7A-K, 8A-Q), nuchal plates ( Figure 9 View FIGURE 9 A-Y), epiplastra ( Figure 10 View FIGURE 10 A-Z), entoplastra ( Figure 11 View FIGURE 11 A-AG), and xiphiplastra ( Figures 12 View FIGURE 12 A-BR, 13A-X). See the collection numbers in the respective figure captions.

Type locality and horizon. El Escobar fossil site, Sanzoles Municipality, Zamora Province , Castile and Leon Autonomous Community, northwestern Spain ( Figure 1 View FIGURE 1 ). Duero Basin. Entrala Formation, MP 13 or MP 14, Lutetian, middle Eocene (see Ortega et al., 2022 and references therein) .

Other localities. Valdegallina 1, Valdegallina 2, and Valdegallina 3 fossil sites, Valdegallina locality, Zamora Municipality; Cubillos 1 and Tardemayas 1 fossil sites, located respectively on the west and south margins of the Infiernos Hill, Monfarracinos Municipality; Teso de la Mora fossil site, Torres del Carrizal Municipality ( Figure 1 View FIGURE 1 ). As the type locality, all of them are located in the Zamora Province , Castile and Leon Autonomous Community , northwestern Spain. Duero Basin. Entrala Formation, MP 13 or MP 14, Lutetian, middle Eocene (see Ortega et al., 2022 and references therein) .

Emended diagnosis. Neochelys zamorensis can be defined by the following exclusive character combination of shell features within the genus Neochelys : elliptical carapace; maximum carapace length about 30 cm; slightly notched to unnotched anterior carapace margin; as wide as long to generally slightly wider than long nuchal; maximum nuchal width ranging between two and three times that of its anterior margin; seven or rarely eight neurals; longer than wide to slightly wider than long second and third neurals; slightly to almost twice wider than long suprapygal; slightly longer than wide to as wide as long pygal; slightly longer than wide to wider than long first peripheral; lyre-shaped first vertebral to development of substraight lateral margins; concave, convex or substraight first vertebral posterior margin; subequal width of the second and third vertebrals, both being the widest of the vertebral series; one and a half to two times as wide as long first marginal; anterior plastral lobe ranging from slightly wider than the posterior to slightly narrower than it; trapezoidal anterior plastral lobe; epiplastral posterior margin from as large as to two times larger than the anteromedial; entoplastral length from equivalent to its distance to the pectoral-abdominal sulcus to about two times greater; subrounded to generally substraight lateral margins of the posterior plastral lobe; anal notch width between two and two and a half times less than the maximum xiphiplastral width; anal notch two to four times wider than long; relatively long overlap of the gular on the entoplastron, reaching half the length of this plate, to almost absent overlap; presence or absence of a short to long gularpectorals contact.