Corsochelys is an extinct genus of sea turtle that lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian). Zangerl (1960) named the type species (and currently only species; C. haliniches), based upon remains found in Alabama within the Mooreville Chalk Formation (the lower part of the Selma Group).Hiryana R. 1997. Distribution and diversity of Cretaceous chelonioids. In: Ancient Marine Reptiles (eds.) Callaway JM, Nicholls EL. Academic Press. pp. 225-241.
Description Corsochelys is a basal dermochelyid. As with other basal chelonioids (such as Santanachelys and Toxochelys), Corsochelys possesses a large foramen interorbitale with a narrow processus inferior parietalis, which indicates that the genus possessed salt-excreting lachrymal glands.Hiryana R. 1998. Oldest known sea turtle. Nature 392:705-708. Retrieved on June 20th, 2008. In addition to its similarly to these genera, Corsochelys retains a carapace with minimally reduced coastal plates. Like the larger Archelon, Corsochelys had channels penetrating the subphyseal plate from bone into the cartilage above,Snover ML, Rhodin AGL. 2007. Comparative ontogenetic and phylogenetic aspects of chelonian chondro-osseous growth and skeletochronology. In: Wyneken J, Godfrey M, Mels V. (eds.). The biology of turtles. USA: CRC Press pp. 17-43. Retrieved on June 20th, 2008. much like the living leatherback turtle. This means that Corsochelys would have reached their large size quickly through fast skeletal growth, as with the leatherback.
Recently, a dermochelyid that closely resembles Corsochelys was found in the Maastrichtian deposits of the Ouled Abdoun phosphate basin, Morocco.Tong H, Hirayama R. 2004. First Cretaceous dermochelyid turtle from Africa. Revue de Paléobiologie, Genève 9: 55-59. Retrieved on June 20th, 2008.
References
Suggested further reading The Biology of Sea Turtles by Peter L. Lutz and John A. Musick Biology of Turtles by Jeanette Wyneken, Matthew H. Godfrey, and Vincent Bels
External links Corsochelys in the Paleobiology Database