What did Odontochelys eat?

What kind of shell did the Odontochelys have?

Most notably, Odontochelys had a well-toothed beak (hence its name, Greek for “toothed shell”) and a semi-soft carapace, analysis of which has provided valuable clues about the evolution of turtle shells in general.

What is the scientific name of Odontochelys?

Name: Odontochelys ‭ (‬Toothed turtle‭)‬. Phonetic: Oh-don-toe-kell-iss. Named By: Li Chun,‭ ‬Xiao-Chun Wu,‭ ‬Olivier Rieppel,‭ ‬Li-Ting Wang‭ & ‬Li-Jun Zhao‭ ‬-‭ ‬2008. Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Anapsida,‭ ‬Testudines,‭ ‬Proganochelydia,‭ ‬Odontochelyidae.

Was Odontochelys the first turtle ever?

When it was announced to the world in 2008, Odontochelys caused a sensation: a prehistoric turtle that preceded the earliest known turtle ancestor, Proganochelys, by 10 million years.

Is Placochelys a prehistoric turtle?

Despite its uncanny resemblance, Placochelys wasn’t a true prehistoric turtle, but a member of the family of marine reptiles known as placodonts (other turtle-like examples including Henodus and Psephoderma).

What was the great surprise about Odontochelys?

The great surprise was that it already has a fully formed plastron covering its underside, just as in present-day turtles. Odontochelys was a stem-turtle on a half shell. With this single meticulously researched volume, Hans-Dieter Sues paints a complete portrait of reptilian evolution.

What was the first turtle ever discovered?

That all changed in 2008 with two major discoveries: first up was the late Jurassic, western European Eileanchelys, touted by researchers as the earliest marine turtle yet identified. Unfortunately, only a few weeks later, Chinese paleontologists announced the discovery of Odontochelys, which lived a whopping 50 million years earlier.

What kind of turtles existed in the Mesozoic era?

On the following slides, you’ll find pictures and detailed profiles of over a dozen prehistoric turtles of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras, ranging from Allaeochelys to Stupendemys. Allaeochelys. Wikimedia Commons Name: Allaeochelys; pronounced AL-ah-ee-OCK-ell-iss Historical Epoch: Middle Eocene (47 million years ago)

What is the scientific name of reptiles and amphibians?

Reptiles and amphibians by scientific name. Acrochordus granulatus (Little File Snake) Amphibolurus nobbi nobbi (Nobbi nobbi, Nobbi Dragon) Antaresia maculosa (Spotted Python) Aspidites melanocephalus (Black-headed Python) Bellatorias frerei (syn. Egernia frerei) (Major Skink)

What is the fossilized ancestor of the turtle called?

Odontochelys semitestacea. Illustration courtesy Marlene Donnelly The fossilized turtle ancestor, dubbed Odontochelys semitestacea (translation: half-shelled turtle with teeth), likely lived in the water rather than on land.

What kind of animal is a Placodus?

The poster genus for this group, Placodus, was an unremarkable-looking creature that spent most of its time on land, but some of its marine relatives–including Henodus, Placochelys, and Psephoderma –looked uncannily like genuine turtles, with their stubby heads and legs, hard shells, and tough, sometimes toothless beaks.

Are Stupendemys prehistoric turtles?

But no discussion about prehistoric turtles would be complete without a mention of the aptly named Stupendemys, a two-ton “pleurodire” turtle of Pleistocene South America (what distinguishes pleurodire from cryptodire turtles is that they pull their heads into their shells with a sideways, rather than a front-to-back, motion).

When did reptiles evolve?

Some time during the late Carboniferous period, about 300 million years ago, the most advanced amphibians on earth evolved into the first true reptiles. On the following slides, you’ll find pictures and detailed profiles of over 30 ancestral reptiles of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic Eras, ranging from Araeoscelis to Tseajara.

Did turtles live alongside dinosaurs?

Scientists claim that ancient turtles lived along with dinosaurs approximately 110 million years ago, until the K-Pg extinction event, which wiped out the dinosaurs. Crocodilians and extinct dinosaurs, and pterosaurs are all grouped as archosaurs (animals with a hole between the eye socket and nostril).

What is the oldest turtle fossil ever found?

The oldest known fossil of a turtle ancestor, a discovery just announced in 2018, comes from Chinese rocks that date to the Triassic period (around 228 million years old). Modern-looking turtles were numerous by the Cretaceous period, 150 million years ago. A juvenile snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) in Athens, Ohio.

What is the oldest known snake fossil?

The oldest known snake fossils, from over 150 million years ago, are already recognizable as snakes from the shapes of their skulls, which have unique backward-pointing teeth to help capture prey.

Did dinosaurs really exist?

Although dinosaurs became extinct many millions of years ago, they still attract a lot of attention. Most of these giant predatory reptiles are closely related to the birds we know today, hence the suspicion that the realities may have been slightly different than we imagine.

How old is the oldest known dinosaur?

Currently, the oldest known dinosaurs come from Argentina, and they’re about 231 million years old.

Where was the first dinosaur fossil found?

This and other large fossil bones were found in Jurassic settlements near Stonefield in Oxfordshire. Buckland published the first scientific description of a dinosaur in 1824, giving the carnivorous animal the scientific name Megalosaurus. Megalosaurus is a genus of predatory dinosaurs.

How did the turtle shell form?

We found how the turtle shell formed. It is not derived from a fusion of osteoderms.” “It is the first fossil evidence to show that the turtle may have originated from a water rather than land environment,” he says.

When did reptiles become dominant in the Carboniferous period?

The reptiles appeared from labyrinthodonts in the subsequent Carboniferous period. The anapsid and synapsid reptiles were common during the late Paleozoic, while the diapsids became dominant during the Mesozoic. In the sea, the bony fishes became dominant.