Denazinemys was a genus of baenid turtle that lived in the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico. The holotype specimen, which D. nodosa was based on, USNM 8345, consists of a partial carapace and plastron. It came from the De-na-zin Member of the Kirtland Formation, and therefore, Denazinemys lived in the Kirtlandian land-vertebrate age. Many specimens other than the holotype have been assigned to Denazinemys.[1]
Denazinemys Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Pantestudines |
Clade: | Testudinata |
Clade: | †Paracryptodira |
Family: | †Baenidae |
Clade: | †Baenodda |
Genus: | †Denazinemys Lucas and Sullivan, 2006 |
Species | |
D. nodosa (Gilmore, 1916) | |
Synonyms[1] | |
"Baena" nodosa Gilmore, 1916 |
Numerous shell fragments from the Lower and the Middle Campanian were assigned to Denazinemys nodosa, based on the welted structure of the shell surface. However, a recent study calls into question the attribution of this material to Denazinemys nodosa, as the material is too fragmentary to distinguish differences in the structure of the welted shell surface.[2] As it is not yet possible to identify these fragments precisely (several species of baenidae having this same feature on their shell surface), the researchers restricted Denazinemys nodosa to the Upper Campanian.[2]
Previously, Scabremys ornata was assigned to Denazinemys as D. ornata. Below are the features found in Denazinemys distinguishing the two genera:[1]
Denazinemys is a baenid along with Plesiobaena, Boremys, Scabremys, Baena and Chisternon.[1]
Below is a cladogram made by Sullivan et al. in 2013 showing the relations of Denazinemys: (note: Boremys pulchra is partly a junior synonym of Boremys grandis)[1]