Lemurchelys, Gaffney & Meylan & Wood & Simons & De Almeida Campos, 2011

Gaffney, Eugene S., Meylan, Peter A., Wood, Roger C., Simons, Elwyn & De Almeida Campos, Diogenes, 2011, Evolution Of The Side-Necked Turtles: The Family Podocnemididae, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2011 (350), pp. 1-237 : 55

Lemurchelys , new genus

TYPE SPECIES: Lemurchelys diasphax , new species.

INCLUDED SPECIES: Lemurchelys diasphax , new species.

DIAGNOSIS: A podocnemidid of the Tribe Stereogenyini known only from the skull; uniquely possessing a very deep crista supraoccipitalis base and adjoining parietal, deeper than in any other Tribe Stereogenyini , and the combination of a parallel-sided palatal cleft and broadly meeting pterygoids due to a short basisphenoid; snout shape wide as in Stereogenys and Shweboemys not narrow as in Latentemys and Cordichelys ; ventral edge of orbital rim a curved surface not an acute edge as in all other Tribe Stereogenyini except Brontochelys ; palatal concavity and convexity very low in contrast to Bairdemys ; frontal and prefrontal flat in profile in contrast to Bairdemys ; septum orbitotemporale with large postorbital and small palatine and parietal-palatine contact in contrast to Shweboemys and Stereogenys ; base of crista supraoccipitalis and adjoining parietal very deep, deeper than in any other Tribe Stereogenyini .

DISTRIBUTION: Miocene of Egypt.

ETYMOLOGY: In allusion to its discovery in the Duke Primate Center, surrounded by a collection of live lemurs, many of which took a prolonged interest in our work.