Chelonia

Abstract

The fossil turtle remains from Las Hoyas are scarce, but exceptionally preserved. A single species has been recognized in the site, recently attributed to a new taxon, Hoyasemys jimenezi. Its holotype is one of the most complete skeletons of the Lower Cretaceous European record of turtles. H. jimenezi is grouped with the members of ?Macrobaenidae? and ?Sinemydidae?. The group formed by these taxa, previously recognized as a node of basal Eucryptodira, is reinterpreted as a lineage of Cryptodira. This is due to the revision of poorly known taxa (e.g. Chitracephalus dumonii), and to the inclusion of these taxa in recently proposed hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships. The morphological characters of the carapace and limbs of H. jimenezi allowed interpreting this turtle as an inhabitant of freshwater, compatible with the environment where it was found.