Stylemys

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Stylemys
Fossil range: late Eocene to early Oligocene

Stylemys is labeled as #4 in this paleobiome illustration by John Day.

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Stylemys Leidy, 1851

Species

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.