Dermochelyidae is a family of sea turtles which has seven extinct genera and one extant genus, containing one living species, the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). The oldest fossils of the group date to the Late Cretaceous.
Classification of known genera The following list is based on Gentry et al. (2025): Genus †Arabemys Tong et al., 1999 Genus †Eosphargis Lydekker, 1889 Genus †Gigantochelys Mousa et al., 2026 Genus †Helianthochelys Sterli et al., 2025 Genus †Mesodermochelys Hirayama & Chitoku, 1996 Subfamily Dermochelyinae Weems, 1988 Tribe †Uelocini Gentry et al., 2025 Genus †Cardiochelys Moody, 1993 Genus †Natemys Wood, Johnson-Gove, Gaffney & Maley, 1996 Genus †Ueloca Gentry et al., 2025 Genus †Zealosphargis Gentry et al., 2025 Tribe Dermochelyini Gentry et al., 2025 Genus †Cosmochelys Andrews, 1919 Genus Dermochelys Blainville, 1816 (including the extant leatherback turtle) Genus †Egyptemys Wood, Johnson-Gove, Gaffney & Maley, 1996 Genus †Psephophorus von Meyer, 1847 The Late Cretaceous Japanese sea turtle †Mesodermochelys was formerly considered a member of this family, which would make it one of the oldest members of the group. However, a 2012 taxonomic revision found it to not be closely related to Dermochelys, and more likely a basal panchelonioid. Similarly, the genus Arabemys Tong et al., 1999 from the Maastrichtian or Early Eocene of Saudi Arabia shows osteoderm morphology unknown among any other dermochelyid, and may be an archosaur instead. Excluding these two, the earliest known dermochelyids include is the basal genera Gigantochelys, from the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Egypt and Eosphargis from the ?Late Paleocene and Early Eocene of Europe and North America.
The two tribes of Dermochelyinae appear to have diverged in the Middle Eocene. The Uelocini saw most of its diversity in the Paleogene, with the last surviving member being Natemys from the Early Miocene. Dermochelyini also saw several genera appear around the Eocene, and Psephophorus survived up to the end of the Miocene, but Dermochelys is the only extant member.
Phylogeny Evers et al. (2019):
References
Bibliography
External links Family Dermochelyidae (Leatherback turtles) from Turtles of the World by C.H. Ernst, R.G.M. Altenburg & R.W. Barbour