Patagonia Uncovers New Horned Turtle Species From the Late Cretaceous
Paleontologists have named Patagoniaemys aeschyli, a new meiolaniform turtle from northern Patagonia, Argentina, dating to the Maastrichtian (72–67 million years ago). The well-preserved Los Alamitos Formation fossil includes skull base, shell fragments, vertebrae, and limbs, with an about 80 cm carapace; its broad, relatively low shell bears thick bumps and a surface of pits and grooves. The discovery supports persistence of meiolaniform lineages across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary in Patagonia, indicating limited faunal turnover for southern turtles, and was described in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica (March 26, 2026).