Temporal range: Late Cretaceous to present, 84.9–0 Ma
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Yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis)
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Testudines
Suborder:
Pleurodira
Clade:
Podocnemidoidae
Family:
Podocnemididae Cope, 1868[1]
Extant genera
Erymnochelys
Peltocephalus
Podocnemis
For fossil genera see text
Synonyms
Podocnemidinae
Podocnemididae is a family of pleurodire (side-necked) turtles, once widely distributed. Most of its 41 genera and 57 species are now extinct. Seven of its eight surviving species are native to South America: the genus Peltocephalus, with two species, only one of which is extant (P. dumerilianus, the Big-headed Amazon River turtle); and the genus Podocnemis, with six living species of South American side-necked river turtles and four extinct. There is also one genus native to Madagascar: Erymnochelys, the Madagascan big-headed turtle, whose single species E. madagascariensis.
Like other pleurodire turtles, podocs have a "side-necked" defensive posture, turning the head sideways to hide it under the shell. Another characteristic of pleurodires is that the pelvis is fused to the shell which prevents pelvic motion, making it difficult to walk on land.[2][3] Podocnemididae turtles live in aquatic environments and have shells streamlined to aid in swimming.[4]
^Cope, Edward Drinker (1868). "On the Origin of Genera". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 20 (106): 242–300. JSTOR 4059902. Three phalanges on most digits; Zygomatic arch; no parieto-mastoid .. Podocnemididae. Temporal fossa overroofed by parietal.. Podocnemis.
^Wise, Taylor B.; Stayton, C. Tristan (2017-03-01). "Side-necked Versus Hidden-necked: A Comparison of Shell Morphology Between Pleurodiran and Cryptodiran Turtles". Herpetologica. 73 (1): 18. doi:10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-15-00038. ISSN 0018-0831. S2CID 90226667.
^Mayerl, Christopher J.; Brainerd, Elizabeth L.; Blob, Richard W. (2016-06-23). "Pelvic girdle mobility of cryptodire and pleurodire turtles during walking and swimming". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 219 (17): 2650–2658. doi:10.1242/jeb.141622. ISSN 0022-0949. PMID 27340204.
Podocnemididae is a family of pleurodire (side-necked) turtles, once widely distributed. Most of its 41 genera and 57 species are now extinct. Seven of...
(2024). The latest freshwater giants: a new Peltocephalus (Pleurodira: Podocnemididae) turtle from the Late Pleistocene of the Brazilian Amazon. Biology Letters...
dumerilianus, both of which forming a clade that is deeply nested within Podocnemididae. The levels of resolution do differ between the two analysis conducted...
expansa (Schweigger, 1812) and P. unifilis Troschel, 1848 (Testudines, Podocnemididae)" (PDF). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 75 (4): 415–430....
This is a list of reptiles in Madagascar. Total number of species = 406 Acrantophis madagascariensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1844) Acrantophis dumerili (Jan...
a new genus for the Egyptian Paleogene turtle 'Stereogenys' libyca (Podocnemididae, Erymnochelyinae)". Historical Biology. 31 (3): 383–392. doi:10.1080/08912963...
the Pelomedusidae, also known as the African mud terrapins, and the Podocnemididae, also known as the American side-neck river turtles. However, they were...
turtles Family Pelomedusidae – Afro-American sideneck turtles Family Podocnemididae – Madagascan big-headed turtles and American sideneck river turtles...
turtles, commonly known as South American river turtles, in the family Podocnemididae. The genus consists of six extant species occurring in tropical South...
Bocqentin, J.; Melo, J. (2006). "Stupendemys souzai sp. nov. (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae) from the Miocene–Pliocene of the Solimões Formation, Brazil". Revista...
Total number of species = 648 Nota bene: In the following list, a binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described...
but less closely to the spine-necked river turtles of South America (Podocnemididae) which belong to a more modern lineage of Pleurodira. This genus contains...
extinct genus of freshwater side-necked turtle, belonging to the family Podocnemididae. It is the largest freshwater turtle known to have existed, with a carapace...
and Cenozoic, members of the pleurodire families Bothremydidae and Podocnemididae became widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere due to their coastal...
Malagasy Podocnemididae than to the South American and Australian Chelidae, with the clade containing both Pelomedusidae and Podocnemididae to the exclusion...
performance of the giant South American turtle (Podocnemis expansa, Podocnemididae)". Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 7 (2): 213–222. doi:10.2744/CCB-0696...
There are about 110 species of reptiles in Singapore. Most of them are small or rarely seen. But there are a few which are large or prominent. The largest...
This is a checklist of American reptiles found in Northern America, based primarily on publications by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles...
Bauruemys is an extinct genus of turtles in the family Podocnemididae. A study on the skulls of the Late Cretaceous stem-podocnemidid Bauruemys elegans...
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