Abstract
Abstract. Algorachelus peregrinus is the oldest representative of the crown group Pleurodira known in Laurasia. The type locality of this bothremydid is Algora, situated in central Spain, at levels deposited during the uppermost middle–lowermost upper Cenomanian. A new excavation was recently carried out in this town. As a result, abundant material of Algorachelus peregrinus has been found. Several complete shells, as well as numerous partial carapaces and plastra, are presented here. The abundance of remains allows the analysis of the general patterns by which some of the shells of this littoral form were partially or totally disarticulated. The analysis of these remains not only shows several pathologies but also improves the knowledge about the anatomy and intraspecific variability of Algorachelus peregrinus. This new information allows the revision of other Cenomanian forms of Bothremydidae, both from the Middle East and from North America. Thus, Algorachelus is identified in these regions, being represented in the early or middle Cenomanian of Palestine by the new combination Algorachelus parvus, and in the uppermost Cenomanian of Utah by the new combination Algorachelus tibert. Therefore, a relatively fast and widely distributed geographic dispersion event is recognized, corresponding to the oldest dispersal event so far identified for a lineage of Pleurodira from Gondwana to Laurasia.
Highlights
Pleurodira is a well-represented group of turtles in the uppermost Cretaceous and Eocene records of Europe
Algorachelus peregrinus is the oldest representative of the crown group Pleurodira known in Laurasia
It is the Bothremydid Algorachelus peregrinus Pérez-García, 2016, whose type locality is located in the uppermost middle–lowermost upper Cenomanian levels of Algora (Guadalajara, Spain)
Summary
Pleurodira is a well-represented group of turtles in the uppermost Cretaceous and Eocene records of Europe. The oldest representative of Pleurodira known in a Laurasiatic region was defined in the Iberian Peninsula It is the Bothremydid Algorachelus peregrinus Pérez-García, 2016, whose type locality is located in the uppermost middle–lowermost upper Cenomanian levels of Algora (Guadalajara, Spain). The new material presented here corresponds to several complete or almost complete and very well-preserved shells, as well as to abundant articulated remains of both the carapace and the plastron. The study of these new fossils improves the knowledge about the anatomy of the shell in this form, its possible phylogenetic closeness with other Cenomanian species from both the Middle East and North America being evaluated
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