AN ALMOST COMPLETE JUVENILE SPECIMEN OF THE CHELONIID TURTLE CTENOCHELYS STENOPORUS (HAY, 1905) FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS NIOBRARA FORMATION OF KANSAS,USA |
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| Authors: | ANDREAS T. MATZKE |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Smithsonian Institution, Department of Palaeobiology, National Museum of Natural History, MRC NHB 121, PO Box 37012, Washington DC, 20013‐7012, USA;2. current address: Institut für Geowissenschaften, Keplerstra?e 17, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;3. e‐mail: matzke@uni‐tuebingen.de |
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| Abstract: | Abstract: A new, unusually well‐preserved juvenile specimen of Ctenochelys stenoporus from the Niobrara Formation is described. The skull has come apart at its sutures and all bones of the braincase and ear region are preserved three‐dimensionally. This allows a detailed reconstruction of the important brain structures of a basal juvenile cheloniid turtle. It is compared with adult Ctenochelys specimens, and the major ontogenetic changes in the skull and postcranial skeleton are described. Furthermore, the specimen is compared with other fossil and extant cheloniids with well‐known braincases and the differences between basal and advanced cheloniids turtles are specified. |
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| Keywords: | Testudines Cheloniidae Ctenochelys braincase Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Formation Kansas |
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