Denazinemys nodosa is a Late Cretaceous representative of the North American turtle clade Baenidae diagnosed, among others, by a shell surface texture consisting of raised welts. We provide a detailed description of a ...

Summary The origin of the turtle shell has perplexed biologists for more than two centuries 1]. It was not until Odontochelys semitestacea 2] was discovered, however, that the fossil and developmental data 3 8] could be ...

The turtle shell represents a unique modification of the ancestral tetrapod body plan. The homologies of its approximately 50 bones have been the subject of debate for more than 200 years. Although most of those homologies ...

The turtle body plan differs markedly from that of other vertebrates and serves as a model system for studying structural and developmental evolution. Incorporation of the ribs into the turtle shell negates the costal ...

Understanding the phylogenetic position of crown turtles (Testudines) among amniotes has been a source of particular contention. Recent morphological analyses suggest that turtles are sister to all other reptiles, whereas ...