''Araiochelys'' ("narrow turtle") is an extinct

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

bothremydid Bothremydidae is an extinct family of side-necked turtles (Pleurodira) known from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. They are closely related to Podocnemididae, and are amongst the most widely distributed pleurodire groups, with their fossils having b ...

pleurodiran turtle that was discovered in the

Ouled Abdoun Basin The Oulad Abdoun Basin (also known as the Ouled Abdoun Basin or Khouribga Basin) is a phosphate sedimentary basin located in Morocco, near the city of Khouribga. It is the largest in Morocco, comprising 44% of Morocco's phosphate reserves, and at ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. The genus consists solely of

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

''A. hirayamai''.

Discovery

''Araiochelys'' was discovered in the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, primarily known for its

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...

and

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

fossils.

Description

The preorbital section of ''Araiochelyss skull is narrower than in all other members of the Bothremydini. The dorsal process is noted by the describers as being narrow in contrast to ''Bothremys''. The ridge forming the lower rim of the orbit is relatively distinct, also in contrast to ''

Bothremys ''Bothremys'' is an extinct genus of bothremydid pleurodiran turtle that was discovered near Gloucester, New Jersey.Leidy, J., 1865 "Cretaceous reptiles of the United States." Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge 192:1-135 https://doi.org/10. ...

''.

References

Bothremydidae Prehistoric turtle genera Monotypic turtle genera Paleocene turtles Fossils of Morocco Paleocene life Cretaceous Africa Fossil taxa described in 2006 {{paleo-turtle-stub