A new baenid turtle from the early Paleocene (Torrejonian) of New Mexico and a species-level phylogenetic analysis of Baenidae

Abstract

AbstractNew cranial and postcranial material of the baenid turtleNeurankylusfrom the Paleocene Nacimiento Formation (Torrejonian NALMA) of northwestern New Mexico represents a new species,Neurankylus torrejonensis. The material consists of a fragmented but mostly complete skull, a partial carapace and plastron, portions of both humeri, a partial pelvis, a complete right femur, and a distal phalanx. The small, undivided cervical scale, wide vertebrals, complete ring of marginals, and large size (carapace length 520 mm) diagnose the new taxon as belonging toNeurankylus. The narrow fifth vertebral scale and scalloped posterior shell margin reveal affinities withNeurankylus baueriGilmore, 1916, which is known from Campanian sediments in New Mexico and Utah. The holotype ofNeurankylus torrejonensisis the youngest known specimen of theNeurankyluslineage, which is known to reach at least back to the Late Cretaceous (Santonian). A nearly complete species-level analysis of baenids confirms the basal placement ofNeurankylusoutside of Baenodda and the split of Baenodda into two primary subclades, herein named Palatobaeninae and Eubaeninae.