"New 96 million-year-old fossil represents oldest side-necked turtle in north america"

The discovery of a new species of ancient turtle is shedding light on hard-to-track reptile migrations about 100 million years ago. Pleurochayah appalachius, a bothremydid turtle adapted for coastal life, is described in a new paper published by a multi-institution research group in the journal Scientific Reports.

P. appalachius was discovered at the Arlington Archosaur Site (AAS) of Texas, which preserves the remnants of an ancient Late Cretaceous river delta that once existed in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and is also known for discoveries of fossil crocodyliformes and dinosaurs. P. appalachius belonged to an extinct lineage of pleurodiran (side-necked) turtles referred to as the Bothremydidae, a diverse and geographically widespread clade that occupied a wide range of ecological niches. The group originated in the southern continent of Gondwana, migrating to northern continents beginning in the Early Cretaceous. P. appalachius represents one of the earliest examples of intercontinental dispersals by the group and is the oldest bothremydid found in North America and Laurasian sediments. Its species name derives from the eastern North American subcontinent Appalachia, which was separated from Laramidia in the west by the Western Interior Seaway during the Late Cretaceous.

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