Stylemys

taxobox
name="Stylemys"
fossil_range=late Eocene to early Oligocene




image2_caption="Stylemys" is labeled as #4 in this paleobiome illustration by John Day.|regnum = Animalia
regnum=Animalia
phylum=Chordata
classis=Reptilia
ordo=Testudines
familia=Testudinidae
genus="Stylemys"
genus_authority=Leidy, 1851
subdivision_ranks="Species"
subdivision=
*"S. amphithorax"

*"S. capax"

*"S. conspecta

*"S. nebrascensis"

"Stylemys" (meaning "pillar mouse") is the first fossil genus of dry land tortoise belonging to the order Chelonia discovered in the United States. The genus was first described in 1851 by Dr. Joseph Leidy. The tortoise was common in the prehistoric Badlands, especially Nebraska and South Dakota. The species has also been found in the White River area of the Badlands in Wyoming.

The ancient tortoises had primitive jaw muscles, unlike today's tortoises, which also display the "os transiliens" bone, and would have been herbivorous. The tortoises did exhibit the same neck as modern tortoises, but the forelimbs were unsuitable for burrowing, setting them apart from modern genera.

References

* Discovering Fossils: How to Find and Identify Remains of the Prehistoric Past (Fossils & Dinosaurs) by Frank A. Garcia, Donald S. Miller, and Jasper Burns
* A Pictorial Guide to Fossils by Gerard Ramon Case
* http://cumuseum.colorado.edu/Research/Objects/jun06_tortoise.html
* http://www.paleoclones.com/item.php?item=929
* http://www.nps.gov/pwr/home/text-versions/feat-JODAFeatureAccessible.html