Proterochersis

Proterochersis
Temporal range: Late Triassic
Fossil remains of Proterochersis shell
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Pantestudines
Clade: Testudinata
Genus: Proterochersis
Fraas, 1913
Species
  • Proterochersis intermedia? Fraas, 1913
  • Proterochersis limendorsa Szczygielski & Sulej, 2016
  • Proterochersis porebensis Szczygielski & Sulej, 2016
  • Proterochersis robusta Fraas, 1913
Synonyms
  • Chelytherium obscurum Meyer, 1865[1]
  • Proterochersis robustum Fraas, 1913 [sic]

Proterochersis is an extinct genus of turtle from the Late Triassic period (Norian stage) of Europe. It is known from a large number of fossils uncovered in Germany and Poland.[2][3][4] The genus was named from fossil remains from Germany in 1913 by Fraas, who recognized two species: P. robusta (type species) and P. intermedia.[2] Since then, Szczygielski and Sulej have found that the differences described by Fraas could be the result of intraspecific variation, meaning that P. intermedia are synonymous with P. robusta. They also decided to classify more recent fossil findings from Poland as two new species, P. limendorsa and P. porebensis.[3] A study from 2021 concluded that fossil turtle remains described in 1865 as Chelytherium obscurum[1] are probably synonymous with Proterochersis.[5] Generally, the rules of nomenclature advocate that the oldest taxonomic name should replace more recent ones, but Szczygielski choose to keep the name Proterochersis.[5]

  1. ^ a b Meyer H (1865). "Reptilien aus dem Stubensandstein des oberen Keupers (Dritte Folge)". Palaeontographica 14(3): p. 99–124
  2. ^ a b Fraas E (1913). "Proterochersis, eine pleurodire Schildkröte aus dem Keuper". Jahreshefte des Vereins für Vaterländische Naturkunde in Württemberg 69: p. 13–30
  3. ^ a b Szczygielski T & Sulej T (2016). "Revision of the Triassic European turtles Proterochersis and Murrhardtia (Reptilia, Testudinata, Proterochersidae), with the description of new taxa from Poland and Germany". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 177(2): pp. 395–427. doi:10.1111/zoj.12374
  4. ^ Szczygielski1 T, Słowiak J & Dróżdż1 D (2018). "Shell variability in the stem turtles Proterochersis spp". PeerJ 6: doi:10.7717/peerj.6134
  5. ^ a b Szczygielski T. (2021). "Obscure by name: solving the enigma of Chelytherium obscurum, the first described Triassic turtle". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 192(4): pp. 1111–1122. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa139