DESCRIPTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF A RECENTLY DISCOVERED STEINKERN FRAGMENT OF A MARINE TURTLE FROM THE NORTH BOHEMIAN SAXON CRETACEOUS BASIN, CZECH REPUBLIC, (CENTRAL EUROPE)

Here we discovered, identified and described a Steinkern fragment of a Marine turtle from the North Bohemian Saxon cretaceous basin, Czech Republic, Central Europe from the Upper cretaceous period. That Steinkern fragment of a proximal part of a left anterior phalanx IV1 of a large Upper Cretaceous marine turtle, which was discovered from the Stráž plateau northeast area of Smržice in Moravia (Czech Republic) in central Europe on 24th July, 2021. Further investigation and illustration are needed to find the correct species identification and Phylogeny of this Steinkern fragment. The exact species identification is not possible due to the limited fragment material, but placement of this fossil record to the genus Desmatochelys seems quite possible due to some morphological characteristics and paleogeographic background. This newly discovered material is closest to that of Desmatochelys carusianus on the basis of geographically and stratigraphically position. Without a fossil’s skull or any of the rest of the skeleton, we don’t really know much about this species.