Gaffney, Eugene S.Forster, Cathy.2005-10-062005-10-062003http://hdl.handle.net/2246/282313 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 12-13).Two lower jaws from the upper part (early Maastrichtian) of the late Cretaceous Maevarano Formation in the Mahajanga Basin, northwestern Madagascar, are identified as belonging to side-necked turtles (Pleurodira). A nearly complete lower jaw is identified as cf. Erymnochelys because of its close resemblance to the living Malagasy Erymnochelys madagascariensis. Both uniquely possess the combination of a posteriorly directed processus retroarticularis and a nearly identical triturating surface that is narrow anteriorly with a horizontal labial ridge and a dorsally rising lingual ridge. A second specimen, consisting of an incomplete symphyseal region, is questionably identified as Bothremydidae on the basis of a thick wedge-shaped symphysis with partial or complete pits on the rami. The cf. Erymnochelys specimen is the oldest record of Erymnochelys or a taxon very similar to it, and it indicates the persistence of a Mesozoic element in the extant Malagasy turtle fauna. The possible bothremydid jaw suggests a more cosmopolitan element now extinct.408750 bytesapplication/pdfen-USQL1 .A436 no.3397 2003Turtles, Fossil -- Madagascar -- Mahajanga (Province)Mandible.Reptiles, Fossil -- Madagascar -- Mahajanga (Province)Paleontology -- Cretaceous -- Madagascar -- Mahajanga (Province)Paleontology -- Madagascar -- Mahajanga (Province)text