Haiyan Tong

Nanhsiungchelys (Testudines: Nanhsiungchelyidae) has been established in the 1960s, but its plastral morphology is not well understood. Here, we report an anterior lobe of the plastron of Nanhsiungchelys from the Upper Cretaceous of Ganzhou Basin, China. The plastron of the new specimen bears a V-shaped notch anteriorly which is absent or unknown i...

An articulated group of skeletal elements comprising a sacrum, both ilia and a first caudal vertebra, plus an isolated tooth found in immediate proximity to the bones, from the lower Cenomanian Chalk at Saint-Jouin-Bruneval (Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France) is described and attributed to a new genus and species of abelisaurid theropod, Caletodraco...

Two nanhsiungchelyid carapaces from the Upper Cretaceous of Ganzhou Basin, Jiangxi Province, Southern China, are reported and assigned to Nanhsiungchelys sp. The new material reveals an unusual carapace morphology that was either not or poorly preserved in previously known Nanhsiungchelys specimens, including differentiated neurals, alternating cos...

Non-marine Mesozoic formations traditionally known as the ''Grès Supérieurs'' (''Upper Sandstones'') cover vast areas in southwestern Cambodia. They are reviewed here on the basis of the geological literature and of new field studies and palaeontological discoveries. Although they may be chronostratigraphically equivalent to formations of the Khora...

The first discovery of a dinosaur bone from the Kingdom of Cambodia is reported in this paper. It consists of a sauropod fibula from a sandstone layer on Koh Paur island, in Koh Kong province, in south-western Cambodia. The dinosaur-bearing bed belongs to the non-marine Grès Supérieurs series and is apparently of Early Cretaceous age. On the basis...

Bien que leur morphologie soit considérée comme primitive, les chéloniens présentent une diversité remarquable, avec des innovations évolutives majeures associées à de nouveaux modes de vie. L’adaptation indépendante du système de rétractation de la tête marque la divergence au cours du Jurassique des deux clades modernes des Testudines : les crypt...

A new Chengyuchelys latimarginalis (Xinjiangchelyidae) specimen is reported based on a well-preserved, nearly complete shell from the upper part of the Upper Jurassic Shangshaximiao Formation of Qijiang District, Chongqing Municipality, China. The Xinjiangchelyidae were widely distributed in Asia during the Jurassic and were the dominant turtle gro...

Mawsoniidae is a family of coelacanths restricted to the Mesozoic. During the Cretaceous, mawsoniids were mainly represented by the Mawsonia/Axelrodichthy complex, long known to be from western Gondwana only (South America and Africa). This apparent biogeographical distribution then faded following the discovery of representatives in the Late Creta...

The first skull of Solemys (Testudines: Helochlydridae) is reported from the Late Cretaceous (Rognacian) Bastide Neuve locality, Fox Amphoux, Var, France. It is assigned to Solemys gaudryi (Matheron, 1869) on the basis of associated shell elements. Our study provides new insights regarding the skull morphology of the family Helochelydridae and sugg...

We described a dinosaur tracksite found in the uppermost part of the Areia do Mastro Formation (lowermost Barremian, Lower Cretaceous), located at 1.5 km north of Cabo Espichel (Sesimbra, Portugal). The studied tracks are distributed in a heavily trampled limestone bed which crops out alongside the rocky beach. The studied trampled surface is highl...

Calissounemys matheroni gen. et sp. nov. (Testudines) is described on the basis of a skull and shell elements from the Upper Cretaceous of Var, southern France. This new taxon is assigned to the family Compsemydidae and characterized by a thick-boned, robust skull, a shallow temporal emargination, a crista supraoccipitalis not extending beyond the...

Yakemys multiporcata n. g. n. sp. is described on the basis of shell elements from the upper part of the Phu Kradung Formation (basal Cretaceous), Khorat Plateau, NE Thailand and assigned to Macrobaenidae. The new taxon is unusually large for an early macrobaenid (with an estimated carapace length about 70 cm) and is characterized by a large, round...

A new enantiornithine bird is described on the basis of a well preserved partial skeleton from the Upper Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Henan Province (central China). It provides new evidence about the osteology of Late Cretaceous enantiornithines, which are mainly known from isolated bones; in contrast, Early Cretaceous forms are often represented...

An isolated first costal turtle plate from the Early Cretaceous of Kut Island, Gulf of Thailand, is reported and assigned to Trionychoidae gen. et sp. indet. The morphology of the plate and comparison with turtle assemblages of the Khorat Group support the correlation of the vertebrates-bearing beds of Kut Island with the Sao Khua Formation, as alr...

Stratigraphical and palaeontological researches on the continental Upper Cretaceous beds of the Castigno valley (Villespassans, Hérault, southern France) began in the 1890s with the work of the local researcher Jean Miquel. The study of the dinosaur remains from that locality by Charles Depéret in 1900 greatly added to the knowledge of the Late Cre...

Three turtle shells from the Middle Jurassic Xintiangou Formation of Yunyang (Chongqing, China) are described and assigned to Xinjiangchelyidae (Testudines: Eucryptodira). This is the first report of turtle remains from the Xintiangou Formation, Sichuan Basin and represents the oldest known Xinjiangchelyidae. The assemblage includes two taxa, Proto...

Coelacanths are iconic fishes represented today by a single marine genus. The group was a little bit more diversified in the Mesozoic, with representatives in marine and continental environments in the Late Cretaceous. Here we describe isolated skull bones of the last know freshwater coelacanths found in several fossil sites from the Early Campania...

We describe a large, nearly completely preserved sauropod humerus from the Lower Cretaceous Xinlong Formation of Napai Basin, Fusui County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China. It was excavated from the quarry that produced the holotypic specimen of the titanosauriform Fusuisaurus zhaoi. With a preserved length of 183.5 cm, the newly c...

Giant tortoises have been found from the Plio-Pleistocene sediments of Tha Chang sandpits, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand. These tortoises are represented by several individuals and are described based on carapace, plastron, limb bones, and isolated plates. Three different morphotypes of epiplastral projection are recognized, pertaining to di...

With more than 50 extant turtle species, Southeast Asia is currently a hotspot of turtle biodiversity. However, the distribution areas of most species are decreasing as a consequence of human activities. The causes of this decline are multiple: habitat and natural resources destruction, introduction of invasive species, hunting, etc. Historical dat...

In this paper, we report on a new Early Cretaceous vertebrate locality, Phu Din Daeng, in Nakhon Phanom Province, NE Thailand. The Phu Din Daeng site has yielded a diverse vertebrate assemblage, including sharks (Heteroptychodus steinmanni), bony fishes (Pycnodontiformes; Sinamiidae cf. Siamamia and ?Vidalamiinae, and Ginglymodi), adocid turtles, i...

Isolated theropod dinosaur teeth from Ko Kut (Kut Island) in eastern Thailand are referred to an indeterminate spinosaurid on the basis of their morphology and ornamentation. On the basis of other spinosaurid occurrences in Thailand and other parts of Asia, they support the attribution of the fossil-bearing beds on Ko Kut to the Lower Cretaceous ra...

Skull and mandibular elements of a tomistomine crocodilian are described from the late Eocene to early Oligocene lignite seams of Krabi, peninsular Thailand. The Thai tomistomine is a longirostrine form characterized by a rostrum/skull ratio of about 0.6; a mandibular symphysis reaching the level of the eleventh alveolus; a deep participation of th...

The core of the fossil record of Teleosauridae, a family of thalattosuchian crocodylomorphs, is well known from western Tethyan marine deposits of the Jurassic. Outside this province, their fossil record is patchy and in need of revision, with specimens from Russia, Madagascar, and Asia. Peipehsuchus teleorhinus is known from the Early or Middle Ju...

A new xinjiangchelyid turtle, Kalasinemys prasarttongosothi n. gen. n. sp., is described on the basis of skull and shell material from the Upper Jurassic Phu Kradung Formation at Phu Noi locality, Kalasin Province, in NE Thailand. This second xinjiangchelyid turtle from Phu Noi is distinct from Phunoichelys thirakhupti by the smooth shell surface,...

We describe here a new turtle from the early Eocene of Wutu, Shandong Province, China. This turtle with a full row of well-developed inframarginal scutes is assigned to the basalmost testudinoids while stem testudinoids were believed to disappear by the Palaeocene–Eocene boundary. This account shows that stem testudinoids crossed this boundary in t...

Le plateau des Hamadas, situé au sud du Haut Atlas marocain, contient de nombreux fossiles de vertébrés qui constituent une succession de faunes provenant d’environnements divers sur une période de près de 10 millions d’années à la base du Crétacé supérieur. La base de la série crétacée est constituée des formations Ifezouane et Aoufous, correspond...

The Lower Cretaceous Xinlong Formation in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region, which was deposited in a non-marine, fluvial environment, has yielded a diverse assemblage of vertebrates. The study of the shark teeth from the Xinlong Formation revealed the presence of teeth of Acrorhizodus khoratensis that do not appear to correspond to a jaw position r...

Modern turtles are composed of two monophyletic groups, notably diagnosed by divergent neck retraction mechanisms. Pleurodires (side-necked turtles) bend their neck sideways and protect their head under the anterior margin of the carapace. Cryptodires (hidden-necked turtles) withdraw their neck and head in the vertical plane between the shoulder gi...

Modern turtles are divided into two main clades, which find their origin as early as the Middle Jurassic. These two groups have independently developed complex double-bend neck retraction mechanisms. Pleurodires (side-necked turtles) fold the neck sideways and tuck the head under the anterior margin of the carapace. Cryptodires (hidden-necked turtl...

New material of Jiangxichelys ganzhouensis Tong & Mo, 2010, including four shells, is described, more fully documenting the morphology of the species. A partial skull associated with one of the shells is reported for the first time for that taxon. The new material reveals more similarities between J. ganzhouensis and ‘ Zangerlia ’ neimongolensis ;...

Oxygen isotope compositions of tooth enamel increments in theropod dinosaurs are investigated as potential proxies of climate seasonality. Six teeth of large carnivorous theropods collected from four Cretaceous formations deposited under contrasted climates have been sampled. These teeth have been analyzed for the oxygen isotope compositions of the...

Modern turtles are divided into two main clades, which find their origin as early as the Middle Jurassic. These two groups have independently developed complex double-bend neck retraction mechanisms. Pleurodires (side-necked turtles) fold the neck sideways and tuck the head under the anterior margin of the carapace. Cryptodires (hidden-necked turtl...

Thalattosuchians are crocodylomorphs mainly known from marine strata of Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age. They represent the earliest crocodylomorph radiation to an aquatic habitat and their evolutionary history offers very few records from freshwater settings. Here, we report several exquisitely preserved thalattosuchian skulls attributed to...

The vertebrate assemblage from the Early Cretaceous non-marine Xinlong Formation of the Napai Basin, in the south-western part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (southern China), is reviewed. The assemblage includes chondrichthyans (at least six species of hybodont sharks including Hybodus, Thaiodus, Heteroptychodus and Acrorhizodus ), actinopter...

The mid-Cretaceous vertebrate assemblage from south-eastern Morocco is one of the most diversified continental vertebrate assemblages of this time worldwide. The bony fish component (coelacanths, lungfishes and ray-finned fishes) is represented by relatively complete specimens and, mostly, by fragmentary elements scattered along 250 kilometres of o...

Two exceptionally well-preserved specimens of “Zangerlia” neimongolensis provide additional information on the structure of the skull, shell and limbs of this taxon. These specimens show that the carapace is more similar to that of Hanbogdemys than was previously recognized. A PAUP analysis results in a single most parsimonious cladogram in which t...

Xinjiangchelys oshanensis (Ye, 1973) was originally described as Plesiochelys oshanensis Ye, 1973 from the Jurassic Upper Lufeng series of Eshan, Yunnan Province, China. The species was based on a single specimen (IVPP V4444), a damaged shell with articulated carapace and plastron. This species was later referred to as Xinjiangchelys? oshanensis an...

In a recent Gondwana Research article Grellet-Tinner and Codrea (in press) (hereafter “GTC”) describe a single bone (UBB ODA-28, collections of Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania) from the Upper Cretaceous Şard Formation (=middle section of the Sebeş Formation) (Transylvanian Basin, Romania) as a pterosaur premaxillary cranial crest. The...

A new genus and new species of primitive eucryptodiran turtle, Phunoichelys thirakhupti gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of shell remains from the lower part of the Phu Kradung Formation, at Phu Noi locality, Kalasin Province, NE Thailand. It is assigned to Xinjiangchelyidae on the basis of the marginals covering the lateral end of the c...

La flore et la faune paraliques du Jurassique supérieur de Chassiron (île d’Oléron, Ouest de la France) sont décrites. Dans cette localité, les bonebeds d’âge Tithonien et de faciès purbeckien ont livré, aux côtés de nombreux restes de plantes et d’invertébrés, un assemblage de vertébrés riche et diversifié, incluant poissons, amphibiens, reptiles...

Eggshell fragments attributed to large birds have been known from the Palaeogene of southern France for half a century, but reconstructing their original dimensions and identifying the birds that laid the eggs has been fraught with difficulties. On the basis of numerous newly collected specimens and using geometrical calculations, the original size...

The first jaw remain of the Late Cretaceous eutherian Labes is a mandibular fragment from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) locality Massecaps in Departement Herault in southwestern France. The mandible holds three double-rooted molars (m1–3) with broken trigonids and preserved talonids of which m1 apparently was the largest. The entoconid is sli...

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is correlated with the first occurrences of earliest modern mammals in the Northern Hemisphere. The latest Paleocene Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Age, that has yielded rodents and carnivorans, is the only exception to this rule. However, until now no pre-PETM localities have yielded modern mamm...

Sinaspideretes wimani Young & Chow, 1953 was based on a single shell from the Jurassic red beds of the Sichuan Basin. Originally referred to Trionychidae but later tentatively assigned to Carettochelyidae, it was long thought to be the oldest representative of those families. The re-examination of the carapace and further preparation of the plastro...

A new species of Cuora, Cuora chiangmuanensis sp. nov., is described on the basis of a nearly complete shell with limb bones from the late Middle – early Late Miocene Chiang Muan Mine, Phayao Province (Northern Thailand). C. chiangmuanensis is distinguished from other fossil and living Cuora species mainly on the basis of its plastral morphology. A...

Un nouveau genre et une nouvelle espèce de tortue Lindholmemydidae (Cryptodira: Testudinoidea), Shandongemys dongwuica n. g. n. sp. sont décrits à partir d’un squelette partiel composé d’une carapace incomplète associée avec un crâne incomplet, une mâchoire inférieure et des éléments des membres provenant du Crétacé supérieur du Groupe de Wangshi,...

A well preserved skull of Puppigerus camperi (Testudines: Cryptodira: Cheloniidae) is reported from the Ypresian (Early Eocene) phosphate deposits of the Ouled Abdoun basin, Morocco. This discovery adds an additional element to the rich turtle assemblages hitherto known in the Ouled Abdoun basin, suggesting further close relationships with the Pale...

A preliminary overview of the relatively poorly known Late Cretaceous turtle faunas from eastern Central Europe is given, including brief descriptions both of historically significant and of more recently collected taxa and specimens from the Santonian-Campanian of Hungary, the Campanian of Austria, and the Maastrichtian of Romania. Eastern Central...

The first cryptodiran turtle with a pitted palate, Brachyopsemys tingitana gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of skulls and a lower jaw from the early Paleocene (Danian) of the Ouled Abdoun Basin, Morocco. The new taxon shares a number of apomorphic features with Sandownia harrisi from the Aptian of the Isle of White, England, Angolachelys...

The fossil record of testudinoid turtles of China during the Eocene-Oligocene is poorly documented. The Maoming basin is one of the few Paleogene basin in southern China having yielded a rich turtle fauna including Trionychidae, Carettochelyidae and Geoemydidae (Testudinoidea). Testudinoids were known in this basin by a single, supposed aquatic spe...

A new genus and species of Nanhsiungchelyidae (Testudines: Cryptodira), Yuchelys nanyangensis n. g. n. sp., are described on the basis of a partial skeleton from the Late Cretaceous Gaogou Formation of Neixiang, Nanyang Basin, Henan Province. It is the first nanhsiungchelyid record in the east-central part of China and fills the geographical gap be...

A new species of Sinemys (Testudines: Cryptodira: Sinemydidae), S. brevispinus n. sp. is described on the basis of three skeletons from the Early Cretaceous Luohandong Formation, Chabu Sumu, Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia. The new taxon is characterised by an elongate carapace with a pair of distinct but short lateral spines, a sculptured shell surfac...