| Denazinemys Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Pantestudines |
| Clade: | Testudinata |
| Clade: | †Paracryptodira |
| Family: | †Baenidae |
| Clade: | †Baenodda |
| Genus: | †Denazinemys Lucas and Sullivan, 2006 |
| Species | |
|
D. nodosa (Gilmore, 1916) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
"Baena" nodosa Gilmore, 1916 | |
Denazinemys was a genus of baenid turtle that lived in the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico. The holotype specimen, which D. nodosa was based on, USNM 8345, consists of a partial carapace and plastron. It came from the De-na-zin Member of the Kirtland Formation, and therefore, Denazinemys lived in the Kirtlandian land-vertebrate age. Many specimens other than the holotype have been assigned to Denazinemys.[1]
Numerous shell fragments from the Lower and the Middle Campanian were assigned to Denazinemys nodosa, based on the welted structure of the shell surface. However, a recent study calls into question the attribution of this material to Denazinemys nodosa, as the material is too fragmentary to distinguish differences in the structure of the welted shell surface.[2] As it is not yet possible to identify these fragments precisely (several species of baenidae having this same feature on their shell surface), the researchers restricted Denazinemys nodosa to the Upper Campanian.[2]