Ctenochelys

Ctenochelys (meaning "comb tortoise") is an extinct genus of marine turtle (Cryptodira, Ctenochelyidae), which existed during the Cretaceous period, and lived in the shallow waters of the Western Interior Seaway. Its fossils have been found in the Ripley Formation and Mooreville Chalk of central Alabama, United States.^[1][2][3] It was first named by C. H. Sternberg in 1904,^[4] and contains two species, C. stenoporus^[5] and C. acris.^[6]

Ctenochelys Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 89–70 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Ctenochelys stenoporus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Chelonioidea
Family:	†Ctenochelyidae
Genus:	†Ctenochelys Zangerl, 1953
Type species
†C. stenoporus
Species
†C. stenoporus †C. acris

Species

Ctenochelys stenoporus skeletons

Ctenochelys stenoporus is the type species. It was originally thought to be a species of Toxochelys; T. bauri, until Sternberg declared it a separate genus.^[4] The two genera are similar in carapaces.^[2]

Ctenochelys acris was first named by Zangerl in 1953 and is now thought to be one of the earliest ancestors of modern cheloniids.^[7]

Phylogeny

Ctenochelys in a cladogram from the analysis of Gentry et al., 2019:^[1]

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