Nanhsiungchelys

Nanhsiungchelys
Temporal range: Maastrichtian
Holotype skeleton (IVPP V3106) of N. wuchingensis, Paleozoological Museum of China
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Family: Nanhsiungchelyidae
Genus: Nanhsiungchelys
Ye, 1966
Type species
Nanhsiungchelys wuchingensis
Ye, 1966
Other species
  • N. yangi Yang et al, 2023

Nanhsiungchelys is a trionychoid turtle from the Upper Cretaceous of Nanhsiung, China. Its genus is derived from the location where it was found, Nanhsiung and the greek word "χελωνα" (chelona), which means turtle. Therefore, Nanhsiungchelys means "turtle from Nanxiong". Nanhsiungchelys has been found in rocks dating to the Maastrichtian of Asia and North America. A second species, N. yangi, was described in 2023 on the basis of a skull, mandible, and anterior portion of the carapace that had been found in the Nanxiong Basin, China.