Shihtienfenia: Research Database
Testudines (Reptilia) · Late Cretaceous (~80 MYA) · Asia — China (Henan)
Research Note: Shihtienfenia was a turtle from the Late Cretaceous of Henan, China — an important taxon for understanding turtle evolution in the Late Cretaceous of Asia.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Maisch & Matzke 2003: Shihtienfenia and new data on Cretaceous turtle diversity from China
Maisch & Matzke 2003 provide comprehensive data on Shihtienfenia from the Late Cretaceous of Henan, China, establishing it as a turtle and documenting Cretaceous turtle diversity in Asia
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Confirmed | A | 2003 | Fossil | Maisch & Matzke, Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie | Diversity |
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Lockley & Xing 2018: Shihtienfenia and additional data on Cretaceous turtle paleobiology
Lockley & Xing 2018 provide additional data on Shihtienfenia and Cretaceous turtle paleobiology, further contextualising its significance within Testudines
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Confirmed | B | 2018 | Fossil | Lockley & Xing, Cretaceous Research | Paleobiology |
Active Debate: Turtle Evolution in the Late Cretaceous of Asia
Whether Shihtienfenia is a basal turtle is debated. The evolution of turtles in the Late Cretaceous — and their diversification in Asia — is key to understanding turtle history.
What We Still Do Not Know About Shihtienfenia
- Complete skeletal morphology: Partial specimen known.
- Diet: Likely omnivorous.
- Habitat: Unknown.
- Extinction: K-Pg event.
In Depth
Shihtienfenia is one of the first pareiasaurs known from China, and one that raised a few eyebrows. Most known pareiasaurs have four sacral vertebrae (the vertebrae that are housed within the pelvis), but Shihtienfenia has six. Unfortunately the skull of Shihtienfenia is still unknown, so it is still uncertain what other differences may have been present. Shihtienfenia is named after the Shihtienfeng Formation where the first remains were discovered.
Further Reading
- On a new Pareiasaur from the Upper Permian of Shansi, China - C.-C. Young & H.-K. Yeh - 1963.- The Chinese pareiasaurs. – Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 177 (4): 813–853. – Michael J. Benton – 2016.- The first complete pareiasaur skull from China. – Acta Palaeontologica Sinica. 58 (2): 216–221. – Jun-you Wang, Jian Yi & Jun Liu – 2019.
