Placochelys (from, "plate" and , "tortoise") is an extinct genus of placodont reptiles erected by Otto Jaekel in 1902.

Fossil records

Fossils of Placochelys dates back to the Triassic period (age range: 221.5 to 205.6 million years ago). They have been found in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy.

Species

This genus includes only one species:

Description

Placochelys looked remarkably similar to a sea turtle, and grew to about 90 cm in length. It had a flat turtle-like carapace covered with knobbly plates, and a compact triangular skull. Its beaked skull had powerful muscles. It had only two pairs of palatal teeth, a large posterior pair, and a small rostral pair. The specialized broad teeth on the palate, were most likely used for crushing shellfish and hard-shelled prey. Its limbs were paddle-shaped for swimming, although, unlike modern sea turtles, they still had discernable toes, and it also had a short tail.

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