Angolachelonia

Angolachelonia is a clade of extinct turtles from the Late Jurassic to Paleogene of Eurasia.

The group is defined as all taxa derived from the ancestor of the type genus Angolachelys and Solnhofia, a definition that could potentially encompass a clade of entirely marine turtles.

[1] Angolachelonia was originally inclusive of only Solnhofia, Angolachelys and Sandownia when originally conceived by Octavio Mateus and colleagues in 2009,[2] but later phylogenetic analyses by Serjocha Evers and Roger Benson in 2018 unites the family Sandownidae, including Angolachelys and Sandownia among other taxa, with the entirely Late Jurassic clade Thalassochelydia, where Solnhofia may be a basal member.

Three alternative potential origins of Angolachelonia sensu Evers and Benson are shown below.

[1] basal stem-group turtles Xinjiangchelyidae Sinemydidae/Macrobaenidae Angolachelonia Pleurodira non-chelonioid cryptodires Chelonioidea basal stem-group turtles Xinjiangchelyidae Sinemydidae Pleurodira non-chelonioid cryptodires Macrobaenidae Angolachelonia Chelonioidea basal stem-group turtles Xinjiangchelyidae Sinemydidae/Macrobaenidae Pleurodira non-chelonioid cryptodires Angolachelonia Chelonioidea