Chelosphargis

Name: Chelosphargis.
Phonetic: Chel-o-sfar-giss.
Named By: Rainer Zangerl‭ ‬-‭ ‬1953.
Synonyms: Protostega advena.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Testudines,‭ ‬Cryptodira,‭ ‬Protostegidae,‭ ‬Chelospharginae.
Species: C.‭ ‬advena‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Omnivore‭?
Size: Unavailable.
Known locations: USA‭ ‬-‭ ‬Alabama‭ ‬-‭ ‬Selma Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Possibly few specimens.

       Chelosphargis was originally named as species of Protostega in‭ ‬1906‭ ‬by Oliver Perry Hay.‭ ‬However the description of Calcarichelys in‭ ‬1953‭ ‬led a later palaeontologist,‭ ‬Rainer Zangerl to conclude that P.‭ ‬advena should be reclassified as a distinct genus.‭ ‬Chelosphargis is regarded as being almost identical to Calcarichelys,‭ ‬a turtle with a series of large spines down the middle of its shell,‭ ‬with the only distinct difference between them being the formation of the keel in Chelosphargis.‭

Further reading
- The vertebrate fauna of the Selma Formation of Alabama. Part III. The turtles of the family Protostegidae. - Fieldiana: Geology Memoirs 3(3):63-133. - R. Zangerl - 1953.



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