Patagoniaemys

Patagoniaemys is an extinct genus of stem turtle that lived in central Patagonia, Chubut Province, Argentina during the late Cretaceous epoch (Campanian to Maastrichtian age). The genus is monotypic with the type species being Patagoniaemys gasparinae. It was a relatively large genus with an oval shaped carapace a large nuchal notch and many pits and grooves.^[1] It would have been a terrestrial or an amphibious species.^[2]

The type specimen is known from skull fragments and several postcranial elements including a nearly complete vertebral column. These fossils were found between the villages of Bajada Moreno and Bajada del Diablo on Buitre Chico Hill, Chubut Province, Argentina. They were recovered from outcrops in the La Colonia Formation.^[1] Later on, several other nearly complete fossils of Patagoniaemys were discovered making this genus the most complete meiolaniform turtle from the Cretaceous period known from Gondwanan supercontinent.^[2]

It was first named by Juliana Sterli and Marcelo S. de la Fuente in 2011. The genus name is derived from the Latin term for Patagonia which is “Patagonia” and the Greek term for turtles which is “Emys”. The species name was in honor of Dr. Zulma Gasparini, a palaeontologist at the La Plata Museum, La Plata, Argentina.^[1]

Phylogenetic analysis of this genus show that its closest relative is Otwayemys which together form a clade with Mongolochelys. The sister clade to this group is the family Meiolaniidae.^[1]

Patagoniaemys is a relatively large genus of turtles with its carapace having a length of 70 centimeters. The skull and shell of this genus has lots of pits and irregular grooves. The carapace was oval shaped and also had a large nuchal notch resembling the general morphology of Mongolochelys efremovi.^[1]

It can be distinguished from Otwayemys with the absence of the guttered bridge peripherals and the presence of anteriorly bent costal.^[1]