Everything about Chelydridae totally explained
There are two extant
species of the
family Chelydridae:
Chelydra serpentina, the
Common Snapping Turtle, and its larger relative
Macrochelys temminckii, the
Alligator Snapping Turtle (although the monotypic
Asian
genus Platysternon has at times been included in this group). Both are
endemic to the
Western Hemisphere.
Fossil history
The Chelydridae have a long
fossil history, with
extinct species reported from
North America,
Asia and
Europe, far outside its present range. The earliest
described chelydrid is
Emarginachelys cretacea, known from well
preserved fossils from the
Maastrichtian stage of the Late
Cretaceous of
Montana. Another well preserved fossil chelydrid is the Late
Paleocene Protochelydra zangerli from
North Dakota. The
carapace of
Protochelydra is higher domed than that of the
Recent
Chelydra, a trait conjectured to be associated with the
coexistence of large, chelonivorous (for example,
turtle-eating)
crocodilians. Another genus,
Chelydropsis,
contains several well known
Eurasian chelyrdid
species that
existed from the
Oligocene to the
Pliocene.
Classification of known genera
- Family Chelydridae
- Subfamily Chelydrinae
Further Information
Get more info on 'Chelydridae'.
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