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The existence of ontogenetic shifts in habitat by marine turtles, and of immature-dominated assemblages in “developmental habitat,” were important concepts first proposed by Archie Carr in 1956. Results of long-term, in-water capture programs in Caribbean Panama (17 yr) and Bermuda (37 yr) allow the testing and refinement of these ideas, in particular the developmental habitat hypothesis for Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata, and Caretta caretta. A literature survey reviews worldwide studies on these species, and also incorporates Lepidochelys kempii. The studies in Panama and Bermuda reported in this paper use netting, mark/recapture, laparoscopy, and satellite telemetry to investigate size distributions, maturity status, residency, site fidelity, and developmental migrations of three species of sea turtles at three study sites. Characteristics of benthic developmental habitat of C. mydas, E. imbricata, L. kempii, and, to a lesser extent, C. caretta in the Atlantic Ocean usually include ben...

The family Podocnemididae consists of 20 genera and 30 species considered here as valid and diagnosable by cranial characters. Three of these genera and eight species persist into the Recent fauna, barely reflecting the evolutionary diversity and distribution of the group. The family extends from the Late Cretaceous to the Recent and occurs in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. A phylogenetic analysis utilizes 31 podocnemidid taxa (30 named and one unnamed; a total of 37 taxa analyzed includes outgroups) in the Podocnemididae that are analyzed using PAUP. The resulting consensus of nine equally parsimonious cladograms is the basis for a new classification of the family. The family Podocnemididae is reconfirmed as monophyletic, using the unique possession of a cavum pterygoidei formed by the basisphenoid, pterygoid, prootic, and quadrate, underlain by the pterygoid and basisphenoid, among other characters. Much of our resolution agrees with that of Franca and Langer (2006), which c...

Although pleurodires have been considered significantly less diverse than their sister group, the cryptodires, current discoveries show that pleurodires had a more complex and extensive evolutionary history than had been realized. Previously unknown radiations, particularly in the near-shore marine realm, are revealed by taxa with diverse cranial morphology, indicating many different feeding and sensory strategies. The pleurodire group that is changed the most by the new discoveries is its largest group, the hyperfamily Pelomedusoides. The hyperfamily Pelomedusoides now consists of the families Pelomedusidae, Podocnemididae, Bothremydidae, Araripemydidae, and Euraxemydidae, new family. The families Bothremydidae, Araripemydidae, and Euraxemydidae, new family, are documented with descriptions of skulls, lower jaws, and shells. The relationships of the family Podocnemididae to its sister taxa Hamadachelys and Brasilemys are recognized by placing them in the epifamily Podocnemidinura. The epifamily ...

The Cenomanian redbeds of southern Morocco have yielded skulls of a new genus and two new species of side-necked turtles, Galianemys whitei and Galianemys emringeri. The genus is based on a series of nine well-preserved skulls and three partial skulls. Galianemys is a pelomedusoid pleurodire belonging to the family Bothremydidae Baur, 1891, because it has: (1) precolumellar fossa absent, (2) foramen stapedio-temporale facing anteriorly, (3) eustachian tube separated from stapes by bone, and (4) exoccipital-quadrate contact. Within the Bothremydidae Galianemys is best resolved as the sister group to Cearachelys because both have the jugal retracted from the orbital margin and a small, slitlike fenestra postotica. Galianemys emringeri has a deep fossa pterygoidei, ventrally exposed prootic, foramen nervi facialis and foramen nervi vidiani, a thicker labial ridge, and the jugal not exposed on the triturating surface, while Galianemys whitei has a shallow fossa pterygoidei, covered prootic and forame...

The known material of the side-necked turtle Dacquemys paleomorpha Williams, 1954, consists of the type skull and a new skull from the late Eocene of Egypt. Dacquemys is reaffirmed as a member of the Podocnemididae because of its well-developed cavum pterygoideus. Within the Podocnemididae Dacquemys uniquely possesses a fully roofed temporal region produced by a posteriorly extensive parietal and wide supraoccipital, a very wide interorbital area, and two accessory maxillary ridges meeting anteriorly to form an enclosed trough.