Ctenochelyidae

Ctenochelyidae is an extinct family of sea turtles which lived in North America during the Santonian-Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous.

Ctenochelyids Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, Santonian–Maastrichtian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Diagram of Ctenochelys stenoporus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Chelonioidea
Family:	†Ctenochelyidae Karl, Biermann & Tichy, 2012 (sensu Gentry, 2018[1])
Type genus
†Ctenochelys Zangerl, 1953
Genera
†Asmodochelys †Ctenochelys †Peritresius †Prionochelys

Classification

The family is defined as a monophyletic clade arising from the most recent ancestors of Ctenochelys and Peritresius. Fossils of ctenochelyids are known from the Western Interior Seaway and Mississippi embayment.^[1] As of 2025, four genera have been assigned to this family: Asmodochelys, Ctenochelys, Peritresius and Prionochelys.^[2]

Below is a cladogram from the analysis by Gentry, Ebersole & Kiernan (2019):^[3]

Pan-Chelonioidea	†Angolachelonia †Protostegidae †Toxochelys latiremis Chelonioidea †Ctenochelyidae †Asmodochelys parhami †Prionochelys matutina †Ctenochelys acris †Ctenochelys stenoporus †Peritresius ornatus †Peritresius martini