The first record of Desmatochelys cf. D. lowii from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of Coahuila, Mexico

Abstract

In this work we describe a new marine turtle from the clade Protostegidae from Mexico recognized as a new specimen of Desmatochelys. This specimen was collected in the San Carlos quarry, near Jiménez, Coahuila, in outcrops of the Austin Formation, Late Cretaceous (Lower Campanian). The quarries of this region are composed of marly limestones where numerous remains of fossil fish, shark teeth, ammonites and crabs were also found. This Protostegidae turtle from Mexico is a semi-articulated specimen in ventral position, that lacks the skull. This specimen is important because it preserves one of its forelimbs and both hindlimbs. The left anterior limb is fully articulated bringing new information of Desmatochelys and, in the same way, it is the first time that both articulated hindlimbs are reported. This new specimen of Desmatochelys is relevant because is the southernmost record for the genus along the Western Interior Seaway during the Late Cretaceous.