Living turtles are characterized by extraordinarily low species diversity given their age. The
clade's extensive fossil record indicates that climate and biogeography may have played …

Over the last 25 years, researchers, mostly paleontologists, have developed a system of
rank-free, phylogenetically defined names for the primary clades of turtles. As these names …

Evolutionary transitions to marine habitats occurred frequently among Mesozoic reptiles.
Only one such clade survives to the present: sea turtles (Chelonioidea). Other marine turtles …

Recent studies suggested that many fossil marine turtles might not be closely related to
extant marine turtles (Chelonioidea). The uncertainty surrounding the origin and …

Turtles have a highly modified body plan, including a rigid shell that constrains postcranial
anatomy. Skull morphology and neck mobility may therefore be key to ecological …

Knowledge of the early evolution of sea turtles (Chelonioidea) has been limited by
conflicting phylogenetic hypotheses resulting from sparse taxon sampling and a superficial …

Pleurodires or side-necked turtles are today restricted to freshwater environments of South
America, Africa–Madagascar and Australia, but in the past they were distributed much more …

Turtles are a charismatic reptile group with a peculiar body plan, which most notably
includes the shell. Anatomists have often focused descriptive efforts on the shell and other …

Turtles are relatively species-poor, but anatomically very distinct from other reptiles, which
yields longstanding debates about their origin among amniotes. On the other hand, an …

The Maevarano Formation in northwestern Madagascar has yielded a series of exceptional
fossils over the course of the last three decades that provide important insights into the …