Chelus
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:Automatic taxobox
Chelus is a genus of large freshwater turtles found in tropical South America. Formerly considered to be a monotypic genus,[1] it now consists of two extant species after Chelus orinocensis was identified in 2020 from a genetic analysis.[2]
Evolution
Fossils of the extinct †C. colombianus have been found in Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil, including a skull dating to the early Miocene (~ 16 m.y.) of the Castilletes Formation, Cocinetas Basin, in Colombia. The fossil shows that the skull morphology of Chelus has been almost unchanged since the Miocene.[3][4]
Species
There are two extant recognized species in this genus[1][5] and one extinct species:[6]
- Chelus fimbriatus – Amazon mata mata
- Chelus orinocensis – Orinoco mata mata
- †Chelus colombianus – Columbian mata mata (Early-Late Miocene)[7][4]
References
Template:Pleurodira Template:Testudines Template:Taxonbar
- ↑ a b Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedttwg - ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRDB - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedPaleobiologyDB - ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".