Pacifichelys Temporal range: Mid Miocene ( Friasian - Laventan ) ~ 15.97?13.65  Ma Pre? ? O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Skull of Pacifichelys urbinai
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Chelonioidea
Family:	Cheloniidae
Genus:	† Pacifichelys
Type species
Pacifichelys urbinai Parham and Pyenson, 2010
Species
P. urbinai Parham and Pyenson, 2010 P. hutchisoni (Lynch and Parham, 2003 )
Synonyms
Euclastes hutchisoni Lynch and Parham, 2003)

Pacifichelys is an extinct genus of sea turtle from the Middle Miocene of Peru ( Pisco Formation ) and California ( Temblor Formation ). ^{[1] [2]} It was first named by James F. Parham and Nicholas D. Pyenson in 2010, and the type species is Pacifichelys urbinai from Peru. ^[2] A second species, P. hutchisoni , was reassigned from the genus Euclastes . It is known from the Miocene of California. Like the living Ridley and loggerhead sea turtles, Pacifichelys was durophagous , consuming hard-shelled organisms with crushing jaws. ^[2]

Taxonomy [ edit ]

Cladogram based on Lynch and Parham (2003) ^[3] and Parham and Pyenson (2010): ^[2]

References [ edit ]