Rhinochelys is an extinct genus of sea turtles belonging to the family Protostegidae.
Fossil records
Fossils of Rhinochelys have been found in Late Albian to middle Cenomanian-age marine deposits of southern England, Lebanon, and France.
Species Three species of Rhinochelys are recognized:Collins JI. 1970. The chelonian Rhinochelys Seeley from the Upper Cretaceous of England and France. Palaeontology 13(3):355-378 Rhinochelys pulchriceps (Owen, 1851) Rhinochelys amaberti Moret, 1935 Rhinochelys nammourensis Tong, Hirayama, Makhoul & Escuillie, 2006Haiyan Tong, Hirayama R., Makhoul, E. & Escuillie F. 2006. Rhinochelys (Chelonioidea : Protostegidae) from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Nammoura, Lebanon. Atti della società italiana di scienze naturali e del museo civico di storia naturale di Milano 147 (1) : 113 – 138
Rhinochelys cantabrigiensis and R. elegans, both named by Richard Lydekker in 1889, are recovered by Scavezzoni and Fischer (2018) as closer to Desmatochelys than to Rhinochelys and possibly are not congeneric with Rhinochelys.
Bibliography Hirayama, R., 1997: Distribution and diversity of Cretaceous chelonioids. 225–243. in Callaway, J. M. & Nicholls, E. L., (eds.), 1997: Ancient marine reptiles. Academic Press, San Diego, London, Boston, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, 1997, pp. xlvi - 501 Moody, R. T. J., 1997: The paleogeography of marine and coastal turtles of the North Atlantic and Trans-Saharan regions. 259–278 in Callaway, J. M. & Nicholls, E. L., (eds.) 1997: Ancient Marine Reptiles. Academic Press, San Diego, London, Boston, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, 1997, xlvi-501
References