Baur, 1888
Madagascar big-headed turtles
Recognition
This is one of the two monotypic genera of podocnemine turtles, and is the only member of the group now found outside the neotropics. Its sole living species is Erymnochelys madagascariensis, the Madagascan big-headed turtle.
Remark
Although it has in the past been included in the genus Podocnemis, Erymnochelys is the sole survivor of a diverse group of podocnemidines that inhabited Africa and Asia (De Broin, 1988). The split with the New World Podocnemis occurred in the late Cretaceous, so that nowadays Erymnochelys and Podocnemis are not closely related.