Brontochelys, 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 : 54-55

Brontochelys , new genus

TYPE SPECIES: Shweboemys gaffneyi Wood, 1970 .

INCLUDED SPECIES: Brontochelys gaffneyi .

DIAGNOSIS: A podocnemidid of the Tribe Stereogenyini known from the skull; uniquely possessing large orbits that face forward to a greater degree than in other Tribe Stereogenyini and frontal that forms more of the dorsal orbital margin than in other Tribe Stereogenyini ; medial edges of palatal cleft curved in contrast to the other Infratribe Stereogenyita ( Lemurchelys , Shweboemys and Stereogenys ); triturating surfaces relatively flat as in Shweboemys and in contrast to most Tribe Stereogenyini ; jugal-pterygoid contact prevents palatine-parietal contact; basisphenoid very wide, wider than basioccipital, in contrast to most other Tribe Stereogenyini in which it is narrower.

DISTRIBUTION: Pakistan, Early Miocene.

ETYMOLOGY: From Bronte, Greek ‘‘thunder’’; chelys, Greek ‘‘turtle,’’ in allusion to the large size of the skull.

Brontochelys gaffneyi ( Wood, 1970) , new combination

Shweboemys gaffneyi Wood, 1970

TYPE SPECIMEN: BMNH R.8570 (figs. 62– 66), a nearly complete skull, lacking some of the preorbital area, most of the lateral and posterior skull roof, and most of the quadrates. Also figured and described in Wood (1970: figs. 1, 2; pls. 2B, 3B, 4B) .

TYPE LOCALITY AND HORIZON: Unknown, but Wood (1970, q. v. for discussion) concluded that the type specimen was from Early Miocene sediments in or near the Bugti Hills, Baluchistan, Pakistan.

DIAGNOSIS: Genus is monotypic.

PREVIOUS WORK: Wood (1970).

DISCUSSION: The distinction of this genus relies on the unique anteriorly facing orbits and large frontal bone, as well as other palatal features not occurring in the infratribe Stereogenyita .