Khunnuchelys
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Khunnuchelys Temporal range: Turonian to Campanian, 91–75 Ma |
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| Holotype skull of Khunnuchelys lophorhothon | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Superfamily: | Trionychia |
| Family: | Trionychidae |
| Subfamily: | Trionychinae |
| Genus: |
†Khunnuchelys Brinkman et al., 1993 |
| Type species | |
| †Khunnuchelys erinhotensis Brinkman et al., 1993 |
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| Species | |
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†K. erinhotensis Brinkman et al., 1993 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Synonyms of K. kizulkumensis
Synonyms of K. lophorhothon
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†K. erinhotensis Brinkman et al., 1993
†K. kizylkumensis Brinkman et al., 1993
†K. lophorhothon Danilov et al., 2013
Khunnuchelys was a genus of trionychine turtle from the Late Cretaceous of Asia. Three species are known, K. erinhotensis, the type species, K. kizylkumensis, and K. lophorhothon. K. erinhotensis lived in China from the late Turonian until the middle Campanian. K. kizylkumensis existed during the late Turonian of Uzbekistan. The third species, described in 2013 by Danilov et al., persisted from the early to middle Campanian of Kazakhstan.
K. lophorothon is known from two skulls, and has a complex history of classifications. Originally, it was assigned to the dinosaur genus cf. Lophorhothon by Lev Alexandrovitch Nessov in 1995 as an unidentified species. Later, it was correctly transferred to the genus Khunnuchelys by Danilov and Vitek (2012), but was not described in any detail. The two skulls were named Khunnuchelys sp. 1 and Khunnuchelys sp. 2. by them. The finder of the second skull was Mikhail E. Voskoboynikov, who allowed it to be studied by Lev I. Khosatzky.
K. lophorothon emends the original classification of the species, as the species name if derived from the name of Lophorhothon, the dinosaur it was originally classified under.
Khunnuchelys is an extinct turtle is which many skulls are known from. In fact, is the only skull-based trionychid from the Cretaceous. The side of the maxillary makes up a beak-like structure, an unusual feature of trionychids. One skull, ZIN PH 1/146, is relatively small, and is only partly preserved. The maxilla and prefrontals of the specimen are only partly known, although the jugals, basioccipitals, supraoccipital crest, and left quadrate are close to complete. The preserved skull length is 9 cm (3.5 in), and the total approximate skull is 17 cm (6.7 in) long. The specimen is unique among Khunnuchelys, as the ventral edge is generally well-preserved. The ventral edge shows that the skull of Khunnuchelys is arched from the front to the back.
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