Macrochelys

Macrochelys is a genus of very large freshwater turtles in the family Chelydridae from Southeastern United States. Only a single extant species was recognized until a 2014 study divided it into several species. Traditionally, only a single extant species was recognized, but following reviews two species are now recognized: A third species has been proposed, but its validity is disputed. Neither the Reptile Database nor IUCN's Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group recognize it as separate from M. temminckii. Unlike the family Chelydridae as a whole, the genus Macrochelys is exclusively North American. Hutchison (2008) considered genus Chelydrops to be a junior synonym of Macrochelys, and recombined its type species, Chelydrops stricta from the Miocene (early Barstovian) of Nebraska, as the (then) fourth species of Macrochelys. There are two species only known from fossil remains: