View source for Chelydridae

{{Short description|Family of turtles}}
{{redirect|Snapping turtle|the familiar extant species, Chelydra serpentina|Common snapping turtle}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name              = Chelydrids
| fossil_range      = {{fossilrange|70.6|0}} [[Late Cretaceous]]<ref name=PB>[http://paleobiodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=checkTaxonInfo&taxon_no=172850&is_real_user=0 ''Emarginachelys cretacea''], Paleobiology Database</ref> to [[Holocene|Recent]]
| image             = Snapping_turtle_2_md.jpg
| image_caption     = The common snapping turtle (''Chelydra serpentina'')
| taxon             = Chelydridae
| authority         = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1831<ref name=gray1831 />
| synonyms          = *Chelydrae <small>Gray, 1831:4</small><ref name=gray1831>Gray, John Edward. (1831). ''Synopsis Reptilium; or Short Descriptions of the Species of Reptiles. Part I.—Cataphracta. Tortoises, Crocodiles, and Enaliosaurians.'' London: Treuttel, Wurz, and Co., 85 pp. [Published May 1831].</ref>
*Chelydridae <small>Swainson, 1839:113</small><ref name=swain1839>Swainson, William. (1839). On the natural history and classification of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. Vol. II. In: Lardner, D. (Ed.). The Cabinet Cyclopaedia. Natural History. London: Longman, 452 pp.</ref>
*Chelydradae <small>Gray, 1869:178</small><ref name=gray1869>Gray, John Edward. (1869). Notes on the families and genera of tortoises (Testudinata), and on the characters afforded by the study of their skulls. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1869:165–225.</ref>
| synonyms_ref      = <ref name="ttwg">[[Turtle Taxonomy Working Group]] [van Dijk, P.P., Iverson, J.B., Shaffer, H.B., Bour, R., and Rhodin, A.G.J.]. (2012). Turtles of the World, 2012 update: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status. ''Chelonian Research Monographs'' No. 5, pp. 000.243–000.328, doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v5.2012, {{cite web|url=http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Accounts/crm_5_000_checklist_v5_2012.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-04-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616121324/http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Accounts/crm_5_000_checklist_v5_2012.pdf |archive-date=2013-06-16}}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision       = * ''[[Chelydra]]''
* ''[[Macrochelys]]''
* †''[[Acherontemys]]''
* †''[[Chelydrops]]''
* †''[[Chelydropsis]]''
* †''[[Emarginachelys]]''
* †''[[Macrocephalochelys]]''
* †''[[Planiplastron]]''
* †''[[Protochelydra]]''
}}
The '''Chelydridae''' is a [[Family (biology)|family]] of [[turtle]]s that has seven extinct and two extant [[genera]]. The extant genera are the '''snapping turtles''', ''[[Chelydra]]'' and ''[[Macrochelys]]''. Both are [[Endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to the [[Western Hemisphere]]. The extinct genera are ''[[Acherontemys]]'', ''[[Chelydrops]]'', ''[[Chelydropsis]]'', ''[[Emarginachelys]]'', ''[[Macrocephalochelys]]'', ''[[Planiplastron]]'', and ''[[Protochelydra]]''.

==Fossil history==
[[File:Chelydropsis murchisoni 01.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Chelydropsis]] murchisoni'' fossil remains (left: juvenile; right: adult)]]

The Chelydridae have a long [[fossil]] history, with [[extinction|extinct]] species reported from North America as well as all over Asia and Europe, far outside their present range. The earliest described chelydrid is ''[[Emarginachelys cretacea]]'', known from well-preserved fossils from the [[Maastrichtian]] stage of the Late [[Cretaceous]] of [[Montana]].<ref name=PB/> Another well-preserved fossil chelydrid is the Late [[Paleocene]] ''[[Protochelydra zangerli]]'' from [[North Dakota]].<ref>Danilov G. and J. F. Parham. (2008). A reassessment of some poorly known turtles from the Middle Jurassic of China, with comments on the antiquity of extant turtles. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 28(2):306-318</ref> The [[carapace]] of ''P. zangerli'' is higher-domed than that of the recent ''Chelydra'', a trait conjectured to be associated with the coexistence of large, turtle-eating [[crocodilia]]ns. Another genus, ''Chelydropsis'', contains several well-known [[Eurasia]]n chelydrid [[species]] that existed from the [[Oligocene]] to the [[Pliocene]].<ref>Böhme, M. (2008). Ectothermic vertebrates (Teleostei, Allocaudata, Urodela, Anura, Testudines, Choristodera, Crocodylia, Squamata) from the Upper Oligocene of Oberleichtersbach (Northern Bavaria, Germany). ''Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg'' 260:161-183</ref> In South America, chelydrids (''[[South American snapping turtle|C. acutirostris]]'') only occupy the northwestern corner of the continent, reflecting their recent arrival from Central America as part of the [[Great American Interchange]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Common Snapping Turtle Close Up.jpg|[[Common snapping turtle]] at [[Taum Sauk Mountain]] State Park
Submerged Snapping turtle.jpg|Two-year-old captive-raised snapping turtle from [[Pennsylvania]]
Snapping turtlewithcan.jpg|Female next to can to show size 
Alligator Snapping Turtle Skeleton.jpg|Skeleton of alligator snapping turtle at the [[Museum of Osteology]]

20230613 mamma snapping turtle PD27362.jpg|Female snapping turtle laying eggs (not visible), [[Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary]], [[Lenox, Massachusetts]]

20230613 snapping turtle laying eggs.jpg|Female laying eggs
</gallery>

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Reptiles}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* de Broin, F. (1969). ''Contribution a l'etude des cheloniens. Cheloniens continentaux du Cretace Superieur et du Tertiaire de France. Memoires du [[Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle]].'' Vol. C, No. XXVIII.
* Ericson, B.R. (1973). A new chelydrid turtle (''Protochelydra zangerli''), from the late Paleocene of North Dakota. ''Scientific Publications of the Science Museum of Minnesota, New Series.'' 2(2):1-16.
* Gaffney, E.S. (1975). [[Phylogenetics|Phylogeny]] of the chelydrid turtles: a study of shared derived characters in the skull. ''Fieldiana Geology'' 33:157-178.
* Parham, J.F., C.R. Feldman, and J.R. Boore (2006). The complete [[mitochondrial genome]] of the enigmatic bigheaded turtle (''Platysternon''): description of unusual genomic features and the reconciliation of phylogenetic hypotheses based on mitochondrial and [[nuclear DNA]]. ''BMC Evol Biol.'' 6: 11. Published online February 7, 2006. {{doi|10.1186/1471-2148-6-11}}.
* Whetstone, K.N. (1978). A new genus of cryptodiran turtles (Testudinoidea, Chelydridae) from the Upper Cretaceous [[Hell Creek Formation]] of Montana. ''The [[University of Kansas]] Science Bulletin'' 51(17):539-563.

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Chelydridae}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Chelydridae}}

{{Chelydridae}}
{{Taxonbar |from=Q650212}}

[[Category:Chelydridae| ]]
[[Category:Extant Maastrichtian first appearances]]
[[Category:Turtle families]]
[[Category:Symbols of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]