Paracryptodira Temporal range: Jurassic-Eocene |
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Ordosemys liaoxiensis | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Infraorder: |
†Paracryptodira Gaffney, 1975 |
Families | |
Synonyms | |
Pleurosternoidea |
Pleurosternoidea
The Paracryptodira are an extinct group of turtles. Initially treated as suborder sister to the Cryptodira, they are now known to be a very primitive lineage inside the Cryptodira according to the most common use of the latter taxon.
Paracryptodira have reduced prefrontal exposure on the dorsal surface of their skulls, reduced fenestrae perilymphaticae, and secondarily reduced supraoccipital crests. In the skull, the posterior foramen for the internal carotid canal is located midway along the basisphenoid-pterygoid suture.