Macrocephalochelys
Encyclopedia
Macrocephalochelys is an extinct genus of turtles belonging in the family Chelydridae
. It was first described from a partial skull from the Pliocene
found in the Ukraine
by Piboplichko and Taraschchuk in 1960. It was assigned to the family
Chelydridae
by R. L. Carroll
in 1988 although it was previously hypothesised to belong in Chelydridae by Chkhikvadze in 1971.
Chelydridae
Chelydridae is a family of turtles which has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are Chelydra the snapping turtles, and its larger relative Macrochelys, of which the Alligator Snapping Turtle is the only species. Both are endemic to the Western Hemisphere...
. It was first described from a partial skull from the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
found in the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
by Piboplichko and Taraschchuk in 1960. It was assigned to the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Chelydridae
Chelydridae
Chelydridae is a family of turtles which has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are Chelydra the snapping turtles, and its larger relative Macrochelys, of which the Alligator Snapping Turtle is the only species. Both are endemic to the Western Hemisphere...
by R. L. Carroll
Robert L. Carroll
Robert Lynn Carroll is a vertebrate paleontologist who specialises in Paleozoic and Mesozoic amphibians and reptiles.Carroll was an only child and grew up on a farm near Lansing, Michigan...
in 1988 although it was previously hypothesised to belong in Chelydridae by Chkhikvadze in 1971.