A new species of the turtle Hylaeochelys (Eucryptodira) outside its known geographic and stratigraphic ranges of distribution

A relatively complete shell of a turtle, recently found in the Tithonian (Freixial Formation) of the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal), is presented and described here. Its taxonomic adscription and systematic position are discussed in this paper. This turtle is identified as a basal member of Eucryptodira. Other basal representatives of this group, all of them attributed to Plesiochelyidae, had previously been recognized in this Formation. The new specimen cannot be assigned to that family. It is recognized as a member of the genus Hylaeochelys. The presence of Hylaeochelys had been, so far, only confirmed in Early Cretaceous levels of England. Therefore, this finding expands both the range of geographic distribution of the genus and its stratigraphic distribution. The new specimen is attributed to a new species of this so far monospecific taxon: Hylaeochelys kappa sp. nov.