Article: A new turtle skull from the Purbeckian of England and a note on the early dichotomies of cryptodire turtles

A new cryptodire turtle skull, Dorsetochelys delairi, is described from the Purbeckian of Dorset. It possesses features of both the Glyptopidae and the Baenidae, but cannot be accommodated satisfactorily in either of these two families. Early dichotomies of the cryptodires are discussed. It is concluded that the family Glyptopidae is the sister group of all other forms, and that only subsequently did the Baenidae diverge from the typical cryptodires, which include the modern forms.