An alternative interpretation of small-bodied turtles from the “Middle Purbeck” of England as a new species of compsemydid turtle

A series of small-sized fossil turtles were collected from Beckles’ Pit, Durlston Bay, Dorset, United Kingdom in 1856 a sediment package referable to the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Purbeck Group. The two primary accounts that previously documented these concluded they represent juveniles coeval early pleurosternid Pleurosternon bullockii . brief, third account, however, suggested may new species compsemydid turtle. We here highlight discrete morphological characters consistently distinguish small-bodied Pit large-bodied , particular arrangement bones and scutes along anterior margin shell. As are otherwise used diagnose turtles, compsemydids, establish phylogeny we side with latter interpretation name taxon compsemydid, Tongemys enigmatica gen. et sp. nov. record is restricted Europe, but extremely fragmentary. suggest this be bias towards collection identification small turtle remains, also re-study continental faunas likely yield further material.