A review of the fossil turtles of Australia. American Museum novitates ; no. 2720

Abstract

"The Australian fossil record has yielded sparse but identifiable specimens of Trionychidae (?Miocene-Recent), Carretochelyidae (Pliocene-Recent), Chelidae (Micoene-Recent), Chelonioidea (Cretaceous-Recent), and Meiolaniidae (Miocene-Pleistocene). As is the case with the Recent turtle fauna, the side-necked chelids are the most common and most widespread fossil turtles. With the possible exception of the poorly known Cretaceous Chelycarapookus, the meiolaniids are the only major group present in the fossil record that is not represented in the Recent Australasian fauna. Various new taxa of chelids reported by De Vis around the turn of the century are not diagnosable beyond family. There are no extinct chelid species that can be substantiated at present"--P. [1].