Sankuchemys, GAFFNEY & FORSTER, 2003

GAFFNEY, EUGENE S. & FORSTER, CATHERINE A., 2003, Sankuchemys, a New Side-Necked Turtle (Pelomedusoides: Bothremydidae) from the Late Cretaceous of India, American Museum Novitates 3397, pp. 1-11 : 2

Sankuchemys , new genus

TYPE SPECIES: Sankuchemys sethnai , new genus and species .

DISTRIBUTION: Maastrichtian of Bombay, India.

ETYMOLOGY: Sankuch, ‘‘compressed’’ in Sanskrit, in allusion to the remarkably crushed type specimen.

DIAGNOSIS: A genus of bothremydid pleurodire with triangular skull, orbits dorsolaterally placed; extensive temporal emargination and small postorbital as in Kurmademys ( Gaffney et al., 2001b) and in contrast to all other bothremydids; triturating surfaces roughly parallel and without pits, but with accessory ridge parallel to labial ridge unique among bothremydids; foramen posterius canalis carotici interni formed by pterygoid and basisphenoid in contrast to basisphenoid only in Kurmademys ; foramen stapedio­temporale not visible in dorsal view as in other bothremydids, but in contrast to Kurmademys ; prootic and foramen nervi facialis exposed in ventral view as in Kurmademys .

DISCUSSION: Although many characters are visible in the type skull of Sankuchemys , one important area completely wrecked in SDS/ VPL 1125 is the cavum tympani. This region has many characters important in bothremydid systematics ( Gaffney et al., 2001a, 2001b) that are not determinable for this taxon. The occiput is also reduced to two dimensions completely obscuring foramina and features in that area. Nonetheless, SDS/VPL 1125 does preserve enough characters to show its distinctness from all other taxa and to test its relationships using currently available hypotheses.