J60- Exceedingly Rare Undescribed Cretaceous Turtle Almost Complete Skull KemKem

Scientific name: Unidentified Turtle species. Skull

Location: Taouz, Errachidia Province, South Morocco

Geological Formation: Ifezouane Formation, Kem Kem Basin, Red Sandstone Beds

Age: Upper Cretaceous, Cenomanian stage, (~96 Million Years)

Size (long): 6.1cm = 2.40 Inch

REF.: J60

DESCRIPTION:
Extremely rare piece coming from the Cretaceous sites of the Kem Kem basin. It is the almost complete skull of a tiny turtle. It is a small jewel which deserves to be in the best professional collections. Scientific value worth of comparison with other published and studied stuff.

In these delta and fluvial ecosystems which constituted the paleogeography of the north of Africa 100 million years ago, multiple reptiles could be found, among which the turtles were one of them. However, the turtle rests in these sites are scarce and rare.

This piece has a complicated taxonomic assignation. Nevertheless, there are not many turtles described so far. Next we will list the ones which have been described until now:
- Dirqadim Gaffney et al.2006. Full reference: E. S. Gaffney, H. Tong, and P. A. Meylan. 2006. Evolution of the side-necked turtles: The families Bothremydidae, Euraxemydidae, and Araripemydidae. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 300:1-318
- Galianemys emringeri Gaffney et al. 2002. Full reference: E. S. Gaffney, H. Tong, and P. A. Meylan. 2002. Galianemys, a new side-necked turtle (Pelomedusoides: Bothremydidae) from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco. American Museum Novitates 3379:1-20
- Hamadachelys escuilliei Tong and Buffetaut 1996