Lesson plan
Compsemys
Compsemys is an extinct genus of compsemyid turtle that lived in North America and possibly Europe during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene. The type species, C. victa, was first described by Joseph Leidy from the Hell Creek Formation in Montana in 1856, but Jasinski et al. (2026) suggested most of the specimens referred to C. victa actually represent indeterminate species of this genus. Meanwhile, C. puercensis and C. torrejonensis, both from the Paleocene Nacimiento Formation of New Mexico, are valid species. Another potential species, C. russelli (originally placed in the separate genus Berruchelus), was described in 2012 from Paleocene deposits in France., but Jasinski et el. (2026) suggested Berruchelus represents a distinct genus from Compsemys.
Article summary
Compsemys is an extinct genus of compsemyid turtle that lived in North America and possibly Europe during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene. The type species, C. victa, was first described by Joseph Leidy from the Hell Creek Formation in Montana in 1856, but Jasinski et al. (2026) suggested most of the specimens referred to C. victa actually represent indeterminate species of this genus. Meanwhile, C. puercensis and C. torrejonensis, both from the Paleocene Nacimiento Formation of New Mexico, are valid species. Another potential species, C. russelli (originally placed in the separate genus Berruchelus), was described in 2012 from Paleocene deposits in France., but Jasinski et el. (2026) suggested Berruchelus represents a distinct genus from Compsemys.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.