Dermochelyidae

Dermochelyidae
Temporal range:
Late Paleocene-Holocene, Possible Late Cretaceous records
Leatherback turtles are the only living representative of the dermochelyid family.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Chelonioidea
Family: Dermochelyidae
Fitzinger, 1843
Genera

See text.

Synonyms
  • Sphargidae Gray, 1825
  • Dermatochelydae Fitzinger, 1843
  • Athecae Cope, 1871
  • Athecata Lydekker, 1889
  • Dermochelyidae Lydekker, 1889

Dermochelyidae is a family of sea turtles which has seven extinct genera and one extant genus, containing one living species, the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). The oldest fossils of the group date to the Late Cretaceous.

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