Крупная каймановая черепаха из плиоцена Северного Причерноморья

Abstract

New finds of a large fossil caiman turtle in a number of localities over the Ukraine allow one to revise the systematicpositionof all knownChelidrid turtles of Central and Eastern Europe. Lower jaw described by T. Salaiin 1934 under the name of Trionyx ropcsai, represents the genus chelydropsis and considered to be a senior synonym of Macrocephalochelys pontica, Testudo grandis and others. Caiman turtles are suggested to derive from Asian Sinemydidae (Upper Jurassic - Paleocene) and are not related to Platysernidae. North American Paleogene turtles Protochelydra and Hoplochelys are probably congeneric.