Roxochelys Price, 1953

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 : 65

Roxochelys Price, 1953

TYPE SPECIES: Roxochelys wanderleyi Price, 1953 .

DISTRIBUTION: Late Cretaceous of Brazil.

DIAGNOSIS: Referral of MCT 1722-R and DGM uncataloged ‘‘Mezzalira’’ specimen (figured in Romano et al., 2009: figs. 2B, 3C; see also Mezzalira, 1959, 1966) to R. wanderleyi allow for an expanded diagnosis. This medium-size Pelomedusoides pleurodire (about 300 mm straight carapace length) differs from other South American Cretaceous and Early Tertiary Pelomedusoides in having fine surface sculpture consisting of small polygons; vertebral scales 2–4 relatively wide and hexagonal; a relatively short, wide nuchal bone that is wide anteriorly; first neural four sided; axillary buttress extending onto second costal and reaching to third peripheral anteriorly, suture for axillary buttress broad medially and narrow laterally, second costal thickened to support axillary buttress, bridge peripherals unguttered; iliac attachment area on seventh costal with concave anterior that crosses from the eighth onto the seventh costal both medially and laterally; internal gutter of posterior peripherals and pygal absent; gular scales restricted to epiplastra; intergular scale wide; long humeral contact on midline; pectoral scales contact entoplastron but not epiplastra or mesoplastra.