Hey Guys:
Boy the world of turtles never fails to produce interesting discussion topics. These ancient animals are truly a wonder encased in a design that has withstood the test of time for over 200,000,000 million years. That's an insane amount of time . There is no way to even comprehend that number of years, especially when we live less than a hundred years (for the most part). Therefore it is an amazing feat for turtles to have survived in an ever changing environment. Sharks and other sea life have been around longer but they live in a considerably more stable environment. Turtles were exposed to it all and yet they are still here to fascinate us even today.
For a time it was thought that maybe early Basal turtle forms like Proganochelys quenstedti from the Triassic period may have centered around Central Europe, radiating out from there. Well, in the last twenty years or so additional Triassic turtles have been found in Thailand, Argentina, and Greenland. Now we can add to that ever growing list the United States as a Triassic turtle, Chinlechelys tenertesta, has been found in the Bull Canyon region of New Mexico. This fossil dates back about 205 million years. This means that early turtles probably had a Pangaean origin.
Chinlechelys is a truly marvelous find; one for it being the first Triassic turtle found in the states, and secondly, having the thinnest shell of all turtles with a fully ossified shell. In spots the shell varies from 3mm thick down to 1mm. the species name, tenertesta equates to thin shell, a name well chosen for the species. Today's winner on the thin shell front without a doubt is the Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri). These turtles have shells so thin it can move when the small east African Tortroise breathes. These turtles frequent rocky areas and can wedge themselves in rock crevices and inflate with air, safe from predators. My guess is that Chinlechelyprobably used fallen logs or rocks, to hide in and around, for protection.
Another interesting note about this species is that it gives rise to the speculation that turtle shells were not "always" formed from flattened ribs. In Chinlechelys the ribs are attached to the osteoderm shell plate but not fused to it like in modern turtles. Whether this is really how the shell evolved or whether Chinlechelys is some sort of proto-turtle is not known. Unfortunately there was only a handful of material found of the type specimen and not all in the same trip. Whether there is enough fossil material to truly make a claim one way or another is probably doubtful. It is enough, however, to allow room for speculation. I'd like to see more material before solidifying a position one way or another. For one thing I'd like to see a skull. It is possible that Chinlechelys may not even be a true turtle though I am not saying it's not. From the artist's rendition it sure looks to be all turtle to me. The problem is that some Placodonts such as Cyamodus and Henodus resemble early turtles.. These Placodont genera have dermal armor plating to protect the soft parts of the body. The overall look is that of a turtle shell. In Cyamodus the armor plating was broken into two sections.
One thing Chinlechelys shares with Proganochelys is that it had spines on it's neck like those of Proganochelys. In fact, the first piece of this turtle that was found, was a small section of neck spines. These were probably very advantageous to have to help protect the turtle's skin from predators, of which there were many.
Unlike many of the Earth's ancient turtles that roamed the oceans, Chinlechelys was either a completely terrestrial turtle or a shallow water swamp turtle. Some of the other fossils found in the area appear to have been species associated with water such as Poposaurs, a strange looking beast somewhere between looking like a croc or possibly a dino. Either way Chinlechelys had to wander around in a habitat teaming with other beasties. They had to be very careful to stay cryptic so as not to be stepped on or bitten by other animals. My guess is that it was swamp or a moist forest animal like the turtles of the genus Notochelys are today!
As always you can't get a restful night's sleep in any paleo dormitory. The question of the day is; "Why do the call it Chinlechelys when it was found in Bull Canyon, NM. My simple answer is..."Who cares, at least they didn't name it Gamerabaena! Now turn off the light and go to sleep (lol)!" :)))
Have a Great Day!!!
The "Creature"
