Tacuarembemys ("Tacuarembó turtle") is an extinct genus of continental turtle from South America. It contains a single species, T. kusterae. The genus was described based on the external mold of a carapace and associated shell bone fragments found near the city of Tacuarembó, Uruguay.[1] This fossil was found on the Tacuarembó Formation, whose estimated age ranges from late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous.[2]
| Tacuarembemys Temporal range: Late Jurassic,
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Pantestudines |
| Clade: | Testudinata |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Genus: | †Tacuarembemys Perea et al., 2014 |
| Species: | †T. kusterae
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| Binomial name | |
| †Tacuarembemys kusterae Perea et al., 2014
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It is the first turtle to be discovered in South American continental deposits of that age, and shows a unique combination of traits (shared and derived), who allows the recognition of this fossil as a new genus. Despite that, more remains are needed to clarify its phylogenetic relationships.[1] The estimated length of carapace is 18 cm.
The histology of its plates, a shell that is dorsoventrally low, and the paleoenvironment proposed for the Tacuarembó Formation (permanent and temporary streams and lakes[2]), support the ecology of this genus as semiaquatic and mainly aquatic turtles.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Perea, Daniel; Soto, Matías; Sterli, Juliana; Mesa, Valeria; Toriño, Pablo; Roland, Guillermo; Da Silva, Jorge (2014-09-19). "Tacuarembemys kusterae , gen. et sp. nov., a new Late Jurassic–?earliest Cretaceous continental turtle from western Gondwana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (6): 1329–1341. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.859620. hdl:11336/21191. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 129848452.
- ^ a b Perea, Daniel; Soto, Matías; Veroslavsky, Gerardo; Martínez, Sergio; Ubilla, Martín (2009). "A Late Jurassic fossil assemblage in Gondwana: Biostratigraphy and correlations of the Tacuarembó Formation, Parana Basin, Uruguay". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 28 (2): 168–179. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2009.03.009.
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