Turtles (stylemys/Testudo)
Stylemys, meaning “pillar turtle,” is the first fossil genus of dry land tortoise belonging to the order Testudines discovered in the United States. The genus lived in temperate to subtropical areas of North America, Europe, and Asia, based on fossil distribution.[1] The genus was first described in 1851 by Dr. Joseph Leidy. The tortoise was common in the prehistoric Badlands, especially Nebraska and South Dakota. The species has also been found in the formations in and around Badlands National Park.
The ancient tortoises had primitive jaw muscles, unlike today’s tortoises, which also display the ostransiliens bone, and would have been herbivorous. While Stylemys species did exhibit the same neck structure as modern tortoises, the forelimbs were unsuitable for burrowing, setting them apart from modern genera.
