''Gamerabaena'' is an extinct genus of baenid

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

which existed in

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

during the late

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

Period. It is known from a single fragmentary skull that was found in the

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 ...

-age Hell Creek Formation. It contains the species ''Gamerabaena sonsalla''. ''Gamerabaena'' is similar to the genus '' Palatobaena'', but it differs in its lack of a posterior expansion of the triturating (or chewing) surface, a somewhat rectangular skull, and a wide angle between the

maxilla In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxil ...

e. ''Gamerabaena'' also has a lingual ridge on the inner side of the jaw that is not seen in ''Palatobaena''. ''Gamerabaena'' is considered the sister taxon of ''Palatobaena'' and shares features with both ''Palatobaena'' and '' Plesiobaena''. These features, which include slightly upturned eye sockets, are seen as intermediate between the two other genera. While ''Gamerabaena'' is known only from the skull, it may belong to the same species as ''"Baena" hayi'', which is known primarily from the shell. The genus is named after

Gamera is a fictional giant monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the Gamera, the Giant Monster, eponymous 1965 Japanese film. The character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' ...

, a giant flying, fire-breathing turtle from a series of Japanese

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

films.

Phylogeny

Cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

after Tyler R. Lyson and Walter G. Joyce (2009).

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q20677867, from2=Q5520054 Baenidae Prehistoric turtle genera Late Cretaceous turtles of North America Hell Creek fauna Fossil taxa described in 2010 Gamera

Phylogeny

See also

References