Alienochelys ("strange turtle") is an extinct genus of marine turtle known from Maastrichian-aged Cretaceous phosphates in Morocco.[1] With a skull measuring 41.5 centimetres (1.36 ft) long, it would have been a very large turtle.[2] It was first described as a member of the family Dermochelyidae, meaning that it is a relative of the modern leatherback turtle,[2] though a 2018 study identifies it as a sister taxon of Ocepechelon belonging to the family Protostegidae, indicating that it may have been closer to the extinct Archelon.[3] Unlike other sea turtles, Alienochelys' the jaws being adapted for a powerful crushing pattern well adapted for a durophagous lifestyle, as well as its unusual cranial characteristics.[2][4]
^Cooper, S.L.A.; Marson, K.J.; Smith, R.E.; Martill, D. (2022). "Contrasting preservation in pycnodont fishes reveals first record of regurgitalites from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Moroccan phosphate deposits". Cretaceous Research. 131 (4). 105111. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105111.
