| Eileanchelys Temporal range: Middle Jurassic |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Genus: | †Eileanchelys Anquetin et al., 2009 |
| Species: | E. waldmani |
| Binomial name | |
| Eileanchelys waldmani Anquetin et al., 2009 |
|
Eileanchelys is an extinct genus of pond turtle from the Middle Jurassic period some 164 million years ago of Britain. It was once the earliest swimming turtle known to science, and was thought to be an evolutionary bridge between early land turtles and sea turtles. But in 2008 the oldest turtle species known was announced, Odontochelys, and it appears to have also been aquatic, 60 million years earlier. Only one species is recorded, Eileanchelys waldmani.[1]