France de Lapparent de Broin is an expert on extinct crocodiles and turtles who has made them known to the paleoherpetological community over almost 50 years. Her studies have dealt with fossils from the Mesozoic (mostly the Cretaceous) and the Cenozoic (mainly the Eocene and Miocene). She has been interested in faunas originating mainly from Europe, Africa and South America, and she produced large reviews of turtles from these continents. She erected several taxa, mostly of turtles. Among these taxa are some strange forms that appear to represent unique morphological types.
France de Lapparent de Broin est spécialiste des crocodiles et tortues fossiles et, sur une période d’une cinquantaine d’années, elle les a fait largement connaître. Ses travaux ont porté essentiellement sur le Mésozoïque (surtout le Crétacé) et le Cénozoïque (surtout l’Eocène et le Miocène). Elle s’est intéressée principalement aux faunes fossiles d’Europe, d’Afrique et d’Amérique du Sud et a réalisé d’importantes revues des tortues de ces continents. Elle a créé de nombreux taxons, surtout pour les tortues. Parmi ces taxons figurent des formes étranges qui semblent appartenir à des types morphologiques uniques.
France de Lapparent de Broin (Fig. 1) is a well-known expert in extinct turtles. She was born in 1938 and has been retired for some years. Her interest in paleontology has derived from familial roots. France is a member of the de Lapparent family, which is well-known in the geological community. More specifically, her uncle Albert F. de Lapparent, who was a geologist in the broad sense of the word, oriented her towards paleontology.
She started paleontological research by studying Cretaceous crocodiles from the Sahara in her ‘3rd cycle thesis’ (a degree that no longer exists). This ‘thesis’ was defended in 1965 but it was not published (de Broin, 1965).
After her ‘3rd cycle thesis’, she got a position at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in 1966 and she turned to chelonians for a ‘thèse d’état’ (approximately equivalent to a PhD) with Robert Hoffstetter as supervisor. However, she remained interested in crocodilians and during the course of her ‘thèse d’état’ (which has now been replaced by the ‘Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches’), she exploited parts of the unpublished ‘3e cycle thesis’ and published them.
A spectacular fallout of the ‘3rd cycle thesis’ was the description of the gigantic pholidosaurid crocodile Sarcosuchus imperator from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) of Africa. This taxon is one of the two largest known extinct or extant crocodiles, with a length above 10 m and a mass above 2.5 tons. An almost complete specimen is displayed in the exhibition gallery of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle of Paris. Part of the remains were first recovered from 1946 to 1959 by A.F. de Lapparent. A description was first made in the unpublished ‘3rd cycle thesis’; the following year, the description was published and the name was formally erected (de Broin and Taquet, 1966).
A late repercussion of the ‘3rd cycle thesis’ is the description, in 2002, of the crocodile genus Elosuchus from the late Early Cretaceous of Africa. For this genus and another Cretaceous crocodile of Africa, she erected the family Elosuchidae (de Lapparent de Broin, 2002).
Other works dealing with crocodiles are scattered among articles on turtles. They sometimes consist in identifications of fossils requested by colleagues and published in papers of which she was not co-author.
The involvement of France in the study of turtles is best illustrated by the symposium ‘Première table ronde internationale sur les tortues fossiles’ that she organized at the Paris Museum in 1983, where 18 participants from nine countries met (Fig. 2). The papers were published the following year in Studia Geologica Salmanticensia, as a special volume ‘Studia Palaeocheloniologica’, of which she was co-editor (de Broin and Jiménez-Fuentes, 1984).
She published her first article on chelonians in 1969; although her ‘thèse d’état’ was devoted to chelonians from the French Cretaceous and Tertiary, this first paper was devoted to a fossil from Africa (de Broin, 1969), thus heralding her long-term interest in Africa. France defended her thesis in 1976, which resulted in a monumental publication issued in 1977 (de Broin, 1977). In this big work, she reviewed all turtles known at that time in the Cretaceous and Tertiary of France, i.e. from the Campanian to the Pliocene.
After her thesis, her work consisted of two main contributions: participation in collective studies of faunas (in which she took part for at least identifications of chelonians and, sometimes, crocodiles) and studies focused on turtles. Collaborative studies of faunas represent an important part of France's work. However, the most significant part is likely devoted to the study of chelonian taxa; she did not put geographical or stratigraphical limits to these studies. The stratigraphic range of studied fossils extends from the Triassic to the Holocene, but she mainly focused on those from the Cretaceous, Eocene and Miocene, which more or less reflects the number of localities bearing vertebrates. She is especially interested in Africa and South America. Assuming I correctly made the inventory of taxa that she erected as a co-author or, more often, alone, these include three families (one of crocodiles and two of turtles), 22 genera (three of crocodiles, 19 of turtles) and 40 species (three of crocodiles, 37 of turtles).
Studies of a turtle from the Late Triassic of Thailand range among the most significant contributions (de Broin, 1984b and de Broin et al., 1982). France described this turtle as a new species belonging to Proganochelys, a genus that was known elsewhere only from the Late Triassic of Germany. At that time, the species from Thailand and Germany were the earliest known turtles. Chelonians from the Triassic are still very rare and Proganochelys is the oldest known genus that developed a complete bony shell, i.e., a carapace firmly united to the plastron.
France also produced large and useful reviews. She started reviews with a catalog of the pleurodiran turtles from Gondawana, but the main purpose of this work was to evidence the consequences of the breakup of Gondwana on pleurodirans (de Broin, 1988). Another review deals with turtles from Africa (de Lapparent de Broin, 2000); from a taxonomic point of view, it is more detailed than that on Gondwana. This is a catalog of all chelonians recovered in Africa at that time, i.e. from the Early Jurassic to the Present. In addition, she stressed the main events that affected the faunas and discussed environmental and biogeographic aspects. Similarly, in another review (de Lapparent de Broin, 2001), she listed all European chelonians (i.e. from the Late Triassic to the Present) and she provided information on stratigraphy and biogeography. She also commented on the main faunal changes.
Among more specific outcomes, we may select out, for example, the report of the earliest pelomedusid turtles from the late Early Cretaceous (Aptian) of Niger (de Broin, 1980).
Recently, she described turtles with a peculiar feeding apparatus. Two of these specialized forms were recovered from the Maastrichtian levels of the phosphates of Morocco. The most surprising fossil is certainly a giant chelonioid turtle that developed a suction feeding system (Bardet et al., 2013). Although it shows convergences with beaked whales (and with syngnathid teleosts), its feeding apparatus is unique among tetrapods. The mouth of this turtle is rounded and located at the anterior extremity of the long and tubular snout (a pipette-like system!). Another chelonioid turtle from the same Maastrichtian levels displays a feeding apparatus characterized by a unique arrangement of bones (Fig. 3). This arrangement resulted in a powerful, crushing apparatus allowing feeding on hard preys (de Lapparent de Broin et al., 2014a). A third turtle having a peculiar feeding apparatus, again a chelonioid, was recovered in the Eocene of the Iberian Peninsula. It fed on soft animals and occupied a specialized niche (de Lapparent de Broin et al., 2014b).
Aside from fossils, France has looked at living forms, obviously for comparisons, but also as objects of study. Thus, she was especially interested in the European and Anatolian species of the Testudo hermanni group. She regarded this assemblage as a distinct clade within Testudo s.l., separated probably since the Oligocene and surely by the Late Miocene (de Lapparent de Broin et al., 2006a). The parsimony analysis was based on a matrix that resulted from extended examination of the morphology of these turtles (de Lapparent de Broin et al., 2006b and de Lapparent de Broin et al., 2006c).
Obviously, the study of turtles and/or crocodiles, as that of any other fossils, from a locality is an opportunity to deal with paleoenvironments, and France took part in paleoenvironmental studies of several fossiliferous sites. However, she emphasized that chelonians should be used only cautiously as climatic indicators (de Broin, 1984c), a conclusion that may have surprised specialists of other taxa.
She studied the breakup of Gondwana and the paleogeographic relationships within that super continent, as did other experts in Mesozoic vertebrates. A peculiar study was the attempted reconstruction of Jurassic and Cretaceous coastlines of the Tethys from North America to Arabia; she initiated this work, which was based on various extinct organisms (de Broin et al., 1991). In a paper with Marc Godinot, she questioned the widely-held view that terrestrial vertebrates dispersed from North America to Europe by the Paleocene-Eocene transition; instead, they suggested an inverted direction from Asia to Europe (Godinot and de Lapparent de Broin, 2003).
France greatly improved our knowledge of large-scale chelonian paleobiodiversity (Fig. 4). She spent her entire career at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, at Paris. Retired in 2003, she still works there regularly, as shown by her latest publications (listed below).
Acknowledgements
I thank Nathalie Bardet and Michel Laurin for having invited me to write this article in this thematic issue. I am grateful to Corentin Séguin de Broin, Roger Bour, Igor Danilov and Michel Laurin for providing information and suggestions. This article benefited from reviews by Roger Bour, Igor Danilov and Philippe Taquet.
Scientific publications by France de Lapparent de Broin
de Broin, F., Taquet, P., 1966. Découverte d’un crocodilien nouveau dans le Crétacé inférieur du Sahara. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. D 262, 2326–2329.
de Broin, F., 1969. Sur la présence d’une Tortue, Pelusios sinuatus (A. Smith) au Villafranchien inférieur du Tchad. Bull. Soc. geol. France 11, 909–916.
de Broin, F., 1970. Découverte d’une Tortue (Ptychogaster sp.) dans le Sannoisien (Lattorfien) des Mines de Potasse d’Alsace. Bull. Serv. Carte geol. Als. Lorr. 23, 85–91.
de Broin, F., 1971. Une espèce nouvelle de Tortue pleurodire (? Roxochelys vilavilensis n. sp.) dans le Crétacé supérieur de Bolivie. Bull. Soc. geol. France 13, 445–452.
de Broin, F., Grenot, C., Vernet, R., 1971. Sur la découverte d’un nouveau gisement de Vertébrés dans le Continental intercalaire saharien : La Gara Samani (Algérie). C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. D 272, 1219–1221.
de Broin, F., Buffetaut, E., Koeniguer, J.-C., Rage, J.-C., Russell, D., Taquet, P., Vergnaud-Grazzini, C., Wenz, S., 1974. La faune de vertébrés continentaux du gisement d’In Beceten (Sénonien du Niger). C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. D 279, 469–472.
de Broin, F., 1977. Contribution à l’étude des Chéloniens. Chéloniens continentaux du Crétacé et du Tertiaire de France. Mem. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., C, 38, I–IX + 1–366.
de Broin, F., 1978. La poche à phosphate de Ste Néboule (Lot) et sa faune de vertébrés du Ludien supérieur. 3-Chéloniens. Paleovertebrata 8, 181–190.
de Broin, F., 1978. Les Tortues de France, actuelles et fossiles. Bull. Soc. Herpétol. Fr. 5, 34–42.
de Broin, F., 1979. Chéloniens du Miocène et du Plio-Pléistocène d’Afrique orientale. Bull. Soc. geol. France 21, 323–327.
de Broin, F., 1980. Les Tortues de Gadoufaoua (Aptien du Niger) : aperçu sur la paléogéographie des Pelomedusidae (Pleurodira). Mem. Soc. geol. France 139, 39–46.
de Broin, F., Pironon, B., 1980. Découverte d’une Tortue dermochélyidée dans le Miocène d’Italie centro-méridionale (Matese oriental), province de Benevento. Riv. Ital. Paleont. 86, 589–604.
de Broin, F., Ingavat, R., Janvier, P., Sattayarak, N., 1982. Triassic Turtle Remains northeastern Thailand. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 2, 41–46.
de Broin, F., 1983. Chéloniens. In: Petit-Maire, N., Riser, J. (Eds.), Sahara ou Sahel ? Quaternaire récent du Bassin de Taoudenni (Mali). Lamy, Marseille, pp. 211–233.
de Broin, F., 1984. Introduction. Comunicaciones del I simposium internacional sobre quelonios fosiles, Paris, octubre, 1983. Stud. Geol. Salm., vol. spéc. 1, Stud. Palaeocheloniol. I, 11–14.
de Broin, F., 1984. Rôle des Tortues comme indicateurs de climat. Stud. Geol. Salm., vol. spéc. 1, Stud. Palaeocheloniol. I, 99–103.
de Broin, F., 1984. Proganochelys ruchae n. sp., Chélonien du Trias supérieur de Thaïlande. Stud. Geol. Salm., vol. spéc. 1, Stud. Palaeocheloniol. I: 87–97.
de Broin, F., 1987. Lower Vertebrates from the Early–Middle Eocene Kuldana Formation of Kohat (Pakistan). Chelonia. Contrib. Mus. Paleont., Univ. Michigan 27, 169–185.
de Broin, F., 1987. The Turtles of the Family Pelomedusidae s.l.: origin, geographical spreading and phylogeny. 2nd Intern. Symp. on Turtles, New York, 1987, 1 p., 8 maps.
de Broin, F., 1987. The Late Cretaceous Fauna of Los Alamitos, Patagonia, Argentina. Part IV. Chelonia. Rev. Mus. Argent. Cienc. Nat. “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Paleontologia 3, 131–139.
de Broin de Lapparent, F., 1987. Les Tortues et le Gondwana. Examen des rapports entre le fractionnement du Gondwana au Crétacé et la dispersion géographique des tortues pleurodires. Bull. Groupe Fr. Étude Gondwana 10, 71–86.
de Broin, F., 1988. Étude complémentaire de Rosasia soutoi (Chelonii, Bothremydidae). In: Antunes, M.T., de Broin, F., Le Crétacé terminal de Beira Litoral, Portugal : remarques stratigraphiques et écologiques ; étude complémentaire de Rosasia soutoi (Chelonii, Bothremydidae). Ciênc. Terra (UNL) 9, 162–188.
de Broin, F., 1988. Les Tortues et le Gondwana. Examen des rapports entre le fractionnement du Gondawana et la dispersion géographique des Tortues pleurodires à partir du Crétacé. Stud. Geol. Salam., Stud. Palaeocheloniol. II (5), 103–142.
de Broin, F., 1990. Tortues: 136–142, pl. 10, fig. 12, in: Allibert, C., Argant, A., Argant, J. 1990. Le site de Dembeni (Mayotte, Archipel des Comores). Études Océan Indien 11, Archipel des Comores, I: Maore et Ngazidja, 63–172.
de Broin, F., 1991. Fossil Turtles from Bolivia. In: Suarez-Soruco, R. (Ed.), Fósiles y Facies de Bolivia. I, Vertebrados. Rev. Tecn. YPFB 12, pp. 509–527.
de Broin, F., Barta-Calmus, S., Beauvais, L., Camoin, G., Dejax, J., Gayet, M., Michard, J.-G., Olivaux, T., Roman, J., Sigogneau-Russell, D., Taquet, P., Wenz, S., 1991. Paléobiogéographie de la Téthys : apports de la paléontologie à la localisation des rivages, des aires émergées et des plates-formes au Jurassique et au Crétacé. Bull. Soc. geol. France 162, 13–26.
de Broin, F., de la Fuente, M.S., 1993. Les tortues fossiles d’Argentine : première synthèse. Actes Table Ronde Européenne, Paléontologie et Stratigraphie d’Amérique latine, Lyon 1992. Doc. Lab. Geol. Lyon. 125, 73–84.
de Broin, F., de la Fuente, M.S., 1993. Les tortues fossiles d’Argentine. Ann. Paleontol. 79, 169–231.
Azanza, B., de Broin, F., Galoyer, A., Ginsburg, L., Zouhri, S. 1993. Un nouveau site à Mammifères dans le Miocène supérieur d’Aubignas (Ardèche). C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. II 317, 1129–1134.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Bocquentin, J., Negri, F.R., 1993. Gigantic Turtles (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae) from the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene of southwestern Amazon. Bull. Inst. Fr. Études andines 23, 657–670.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Merle, D., Fontana, M., Ginsburg, L., Hervat, P., Le Calvez, Y., Riveline, J., 1993. Une faune continentale à Vertébrés dans le Lutétien supérieur de Guitrancourt (Yvelines) et son environnement. Bull. Inf. Geol. Bass. Paris 30, 3–16.
de Broin, F., 1994. Données préliminaires sur les Chéloniens du Tithonien inférieur de Canjuers (Var, France). 1994. Table Ronde Internationale, Calcaire Lithographique, Lyon, juillet 1991. Geobios M.S. 16, 168–175.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Gmira, S., 1994. Les Chéloniens dulçaquicoles du Rift occidental, Ouganda. In: Senut, B., Pickford, M. (Eds.), Geology and Palaeobiology of the Albertine Rift Valley, Uganda-Zaïre. II. Palaeobiology. Publ. Occas. CIFEG 4, pp. 157–186.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Murelaga, X. 1996. Une nouvelle faune de Chéloniens dans le Crétacé supérieur européen. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. IIa 323, 729–735.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Lange-Badré, B., Dutrieux, M., 1996. Nouvelles découvertes de tortues dans le Jurassique supérieur du Lot (France) et examen du taxon Plesiochelyidae. Rev. Paleobiol. 15, 533–570.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Werner, C., 1998. New Late Cretaceous turtles from the Western Desert, Egypt. Ann. Paleontol. 84, 131–214.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., de la Fuente, M.S., Calvo, J.O. 1998. Presencia de los mas antiguos quélidos (tortugas pleurodiras) en el Cretácico inferior de “El Chocón”, provincia del Neuquen, Argentina. XIII Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontología de Vertebrados, La Rioja, 11–15 Mai 1997. Ameghiniana 34, 538.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., de la Fuente, M.S., 1999. Particularidades de la fauna continental de tortugas del Cretacico de Argentina. Res. Com. XIV Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontología de Vertebrados, 18–20 Mai 1998, Neuquén. Ameghinina 36, 104.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Murelaga, X., 1999. Turtles from the Upper Cretaceous of Laño (Iberian Peninsula). Estud. Mus. Cienc. Nat. Alava 14 (Num. Esp. 1), 135–211.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Van Dijk, P.P., 1999. Chelonia from the Late Miocene Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Palaeogeographic Implications. In: Whybrow, P.J., Hill, A. (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven and London, 13, pp. 136–162.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2000. Les Chéloniens de Sansan. In: Ginsburg, L. (Ed.), La faune miocène de Sansan et son environnement. Mem. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 183, 219–261.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2000. African chelonians from the Jurassic to the Present. A preliminary catalog of the African fossil chelonians. Palaeontol. Afr. 36, 43–82.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2000. The oldest pre-Podocnemidid turtle (Chelonii, Pleurodira), from the Early Cretaceous, Ceará state, Brasil, and its environment. Treballs Mus. Geol. Barcelona 9, 43–95.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Antunes, M.T., 2000. Pleistocene Chelonians from Gruta da Figueira Brava (Arrábida, Portugal). In: Antunes, M.T. (Ed.), Colloqium ‘Last Neanderthals in Portugal. Odontologic and other evidence’. Mem. Acad. Ciênc. Lisboa, Classe de Ciências, 38, 101–112.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Cahuzac, B., Dubedat, P., 2000. Découverte d’une Tortue Ptychogaster dans les molasses miocènes de Montgaillard (Landes, Sud Aquitaine). Journées F. Crouzel, Toulouse, 1999. Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Toulouse 135, 119–123.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2001. The European turtle fauna from the Triassic to the Present. Dumerilia 4, 155–216.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., de la Fuente, M.S., 2001. Oldest World Chelidae (Chelonii, Pleurodira), from the Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. IIa 333, 463–470.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Molnar, R., 2001. Eocene chelid turtles from Redbank Plains, southeastern Queensland, Australia. Geodiversitas 23, 41–79.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2002. Elosuchus, a new genus of crocodile from the Lower Cretaceous from the north of Africa. C. R. Palevol 1, 275–285.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2002. A giant tortoise from the Late Pliocene of Lesvos Island (Greece) and its possible relationships. In: Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop On Late Plio-Pleistocene extinction and evolution in the Palearctic. The Vatera site. Ann. Geol. Pays Hélléniques 39 A, 99–130.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2003. The Miocene chelonians from the southern Namibia. In: Senut, B., Pickford, M. (Eds.), Faunas from the southern Namibia. Mem. Geol. Surv. Namibia 19, 67–102.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2004. Neochelys sp. (Chelonii, Erymnochelyinae), from Silveirinha, Early Eocene, Portugal. Cienc. Terra (UNL) 15, 117–132.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2004. A new Shachemydinae (Chelonii, Cryptodira) from the Lower Cretaceous of Laos: preliminary data. C. R. Palevol 3, 387–396.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Murelaga Bereikua, X., Codrea, V., 2004. Presence of Dortokidae (Chelonii, Pleurodira) in the Earliest Tertiary of the Jibou Formation, Romania: Paleobiogeographical implications. Acta Palaeontol. Rom. 4, 203–215.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Bour, R., Parham, J.F., Perälä, J., 2006a. Eurotestudo, a new genus for the species Testudo hermanni Gmelin, 1789 (Chelonii, Testudinidae). C. R. Palevol. 5, 803–811.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Bour, R., Perälä, J.F., 2006b. Morphological definition of Eurotestudo (Testudinidae, Chelonii): first part. Ann. Paleontol. 92, 255-304.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Bour, R., Perälä, J.F., 2006c. Morphological definition of Eurotestudo (Testudinidae, Chelonii): second part. Ann. Paleontol. 92, 325–357.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., de la Fuente, M.S., Fernandez, M., 2007. Notoemys (Chelonii, Pleurodira), Late Jurassic of Argentina: new examination of the anatomical structure and comparisons. Rev. Paleobiol. 26, 99–136.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2008. Contributor, In: Merle, D. (coord.), Stratotype Lutétien, Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat.; Biotope, Mèze. BRGM, Orléans, 288 p.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2008. Miocene Chelonians from western Namibia. Mem. Geol. Surv. Namibia 20, 107–145.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Bardet, N., Amaghzaz, M., Meslouh, S., 2014a. A strange new chelonioid turtle from the Latest Cretaceous Phosphates of Morocco. C. R. Palevol 13, 87–95.
de Lapparent de Broin, F., Murelaga, X., Farrés, F., Altamiras, J., 2014b. An exceptional chelonid turtle, Osonachelus decorata nov. gen., nov. sp., from the Eocene (Bartonian) of Catalonia (Spain). Geobios 47, 111–132.
Antunes, M.T., de Broin, F., 1977. ? Cheirogaster sp. (O. Testudines, Fam. Testudinidae, Geochelone s.l.) du Paléogène de Naia, Tondela et l’âge du gisement. Ciênc. Terra (UNL) 3, 179–195.
Ginsburg, G., Arques, J., de Broin, F., Le Calvez, Y., Mouton, J., Obert, D., Privé-Gill, C., Roucan, J.P. 1977. Découverte d’une faune de Mammifères dans le Lutétien supérieur de La Défense à Puteaux près Paris (Hauts-de-Seine). C. R. somm. Soc. geol. France 6, 311–313.
Godinot, M., de Broin, F., Buffetaut, E., Rage, J.-C., Russell, D., 1978. Dormaal : une des plus anciennes faunes éocènes d’Europe. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. D 287, 1273–1276.
Paicheler, J.-C., de Broin, F., Gaudant, J., Mourer-Chauviré, C., Rage, J.-C., Vergnaud-Grazzini, C., 1978. Le Bassin lacustre miocène de Bes Konak (Anatolie, Turquie). Géologie et introduction à la paléontologie des Vertébrés. Geobios 11, 43–65.
de Campos, D. A., de Broin, F., 1981. Tartarugas fosseis do Brasil. Anais Acad. Brasil. Ci., Res. Com. 53, 210–211.
Fabre, J., de Broin, F., Ginsburg, L., Wenz, S., 1982. Les Vertébrés du Berriasien de Canjuers (Var, France) et leur environnement. Geobios 15, 891–923.
Russell, D.E., Bonde, N., Bone, E., de Broin, F., Brunet, M., Buffetaut, E., Cordy, J.-M., Crochet, J.-Y., Dineur, H., Estes, R., Ginsburg, L., Godinot, M., Groessens, M.C., Gigase, P., Harrison, C.J.O., Hartenberger, J.-L., Hoch, E., Hooker, J.J., Insole, A.N., Lange-Badre, B., Louis, P., Moody, R., Rage, J.-C., Rémy, J., Rothausen, K., Sigé, B., Sigogneau-Russell, D., Springhorn, R., Sudre, J., Tobien, H., Vianey-Liaud, M., Vinken, R., Walker, C.A., 1982. Tetrapods of the Northwest European Tertiary Basin. IGCP, Project 124: the North West European Tertiary Basin. Geol. Jb. A 60, 5–74.
Babinot, J.F., Freytet, P. (Coord.), Amiot, M., Bilotte, M., de Broin, F., Colombo, F., Durand, J.P., Feist, M, Floquet, M., Gayet, M., Lange-Badre, B., Masriera, A., Massieux, M., Medus, J., Tambareau, Y., Ullastre, J., Villatte, J., 1983. Le Sénonien supérieur continental de la France méridionale et de l’Espagne septentrionale : état des connaissances biostratigraphiques. Geol. Medit. 10, 245–268.
Gaffney, E.S., Balouet, J.-C., de Broin, F., 1984. New Occurrences of Extinct Meiolaniid Turtles in New Caledonia. Am. Mus. Nov. 2800, 1–6.
Bonaparte, J.F., Baez, A.M., Cione, A.L., Andreis, R., de Broin, F., Powell, J.F., Albino, A., 1987. The Late Cretaceous fauna of Los Alamitos, Patagonia, Argentina. Part IX, Resume. Rev. Mus. Argent. Cienc. Nat. “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Paleontol. 3, 171–178.
Antunes, M.T., Becquart, D., de Broin, F., 1988. Découverte de « Plesiochelys », Chélonien marin-littoral, dans le Kimméridgien d’Alcobaça, Portugal. Ciênc. Terra (UNL) 9, 141–152.
Blondel, T., de Broin, F., Secrétan, S., 1989. Découverte de Chéloniens et de Crustacés décapodes dans le Berriasien supérieur du Jura méridional. Rev. Paleobiol. Vol. spec. 3, 39–45.
Michard, J.-G, de Broin, F., Brunet, M., Hell, J., 1990. Le plus ancien crocodilien néosuchien spécialisé à caractères « eusuchiens » du continent africain (Crétacé inférieur, Cameroun). C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. II 311, 365–371.
Roset, J.-P., de Broin, F., Faure, M., Gayet, M., Guérin, C., Mouchet, F., 1990. La faune de Tin Ouaffadene et d’Adrar Bous 10, deux gisements archéologiques de l’Holocène ancien au Niger nord-oriental. Geodynamique 5, 67–89.
Russell, D.E., de Broin, F., Galoyer, A., Gaudant, J., Gingerich, P.D., Rage, J.-C., 1990. Les Vertébrés du Sparnacien de Meudon. Bull. Inf. Geol. Bass. Paris 27, 21–31.
Ginsburg, L., de Broin, F., Crouzel, F., Duranthon, F., Escuillié, F., Juillard, F., Lassaube, S., 1991. Les Vertébrés du Miocène inférieur de Barbotan-les-Thermes (Gers). Ann. Paleontol. 77, 161–216.
Thomas, H., Roger, J., Sen, S., Dejax, J., Schuler, M., Al-Sulaimani, Z., Bourdillon de Grissac, C., Breton, G., de Broin, F., Camoin, G., Cappetta, H., Carriol, R.-P., Cavelier, C., Chaix, C., Crochet, J.-Y., Farjanel, G., Gayet, M., Gheerbrant, E., Lauriat-Rage, A., Noël, D., Pickford, M., Poignant, A.F., Rage, J.-C., Roman, J., Rouchy, J.-M., Secrétan, S., Sigé, B., Tassy, P., Wenz, S., 1991. Essai de reconstitution des milieux de sédimentation et de vie des primates anthropoïdes de l’Oligocène de Taqah (Dhofar, Sultanat d’Oman). Bull. Soc. geol. France 162, 713–724.
Roger, J., Pickford, M., Thomas, H., de Broin, F., Tassy, P., Van Neer, W., Bourdillon de Grissac, C., Al-Busaldi, S., 1994. Découverte de vertébrés fossiles dans le Miocène de la région du Huqf au Sultanat d’Oman. Ann. Paleontol. 80, 253–273.
Roman, J., Atrops, F., Arnaud, M., Barale, G., Barrat, J.M., Boullier, A., de Broin, F., Gill, G.A., Michard, J.G., Taquet, P., Wenz, S., 1994. Le gisement tithonien inférieur de Canjuers (Var, France) : état actuel des connaissances. Table Ronde Internationale : calcaire Lithographique, Lyon, juillet 1991. Geobios M.S. 16, 126–135.
Vignaud, P., de Broin, F., Brunet, M., Cariou, E., Hantzpergue, P., Lange-Badré, B. 1994. Les faunes de vertébrés jurassiques de la bordure nord-orientale du Bassin d’Aquitaine (France) : biochronologie et environnement. 3e Symp. Intern. Stratigr. Jur., Poitiers, sept. 1991. Geobios M.S. 17, 493–503.
de la Fuente, M.S., de Lapparent de Broin, F., 1997. An Araripemys-like decorated pleurodire turtle in the Paleocene of northwestern Argentine. Geobios 30, 235–242.
Augé, M., Duffaud, S., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Rage, J.-C., Vasse, D., 1997. Les amphibiens et les reptiles de Prémontré (Cuisien, Bassin parisien) : une herpétofaune de référence pour l’Eocène inférieur. Geol. Fr. 1, 23–33.
Thomas, H., Geraads, D., Janjou, D., Vaslet, D., Memesh, A., Billiou, D., Bocherens, H., Dobigny, G., Eisenmann, V., Gayet, M., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Petter, G., Halawani, M., 1998. First Pleistocene faunas from the Arabian Peninsula: An Nafud desert, Saudi Arabia. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. IIa 326, 145–152.
Murelaga, X., Pereda Suberbiola, X., Astibia, H., de Lapparent de Broin, F., 1999. Primeros datos sobre los quelonios del Cretácico superior de Lleida. Geocaceta 24, 239–242.
Murelaga, X, de Lapparent de Broin, F., Pereda Suberbiola, X., Astibia, A., 1999. Deux nouvelles espèces de chéloniens dans le Miocène inférieur du bassin de l’Ebre (Bardenas Reales de Navarre). C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. IIa 348, 423–429.
Nel, A., De Plöeg, G., Dejax, J., Dutheil, D., De Franceschi, D., Gheerbrant, E., Godinot, M., Hervet, S., Menier, J., Augé, M., Bignot, G., Duffaud, S., Gaudant, J., Hua, S., Jossang, A., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Pozzi, J.-P., Paicheler, J.C., Beuchet, F., Rage, J.-C., 1999. Un gisement sparnacien exceptionnel à plantes, arthropodes et vertébrés (Eocène basal, MP7) : Le Quesnoy (Oise, France). C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. IIa 329, 65–72.
Pamouktchiev, A., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Anguelov, A. 1999. Nouvelle trouvaille de tortue fossiles en Bulgarie. Ann. Univ. Sofia St. Kliment Ohridski, I, Geol. 90, 5–9.
Hervet, S., de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2000. Palaeochelys mlynarskii n. sp. de l’Oligocène supérieur de Rott (Allemagne) et redescription de l’espèce type P. bussenensis Meyer, 1847. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. IIa 331, 563–569.
Gheerbrant, E., Codrea, V., Hosu, A., Sen, S., Guernet, C., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Riveline, J. 2000. Découverte de vertébrés dans les Calcaires de Rona (Thanétien ou Sparnacien), Transylvanie, Roumanie : les plus anciens mammifères cénozoïques d’Europe orientale. Eclog. Geol. Helv. 92, 517–535.
Fuente, M.S. de la, de Lapparent de Broin, F., Manera De Bianco, T. 2001. The oldest and first nearly complete skeleton of a chelid, of the Hydromedusa sub-group (Chelidae, Pleurodira), from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia. Bull. Soc. geol. France 172, 105–112.
Prasad, G.V.R., de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2002. Cretaceous crocodile remains from Naskal (India): comparisons and biogeographic affinities. Ann. Paleontol. 88, 19-71.
Augé, M., Ginsburg, L., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Makinsky, M., Mourer, C., Pouit, D., Sen, S., 2002. Les Vertébrés du Miocène moyen de Contres (Loir-et-Cher, France). Rev. Paleobiol. 21 (2), 819–852.
Carvalho, P., Bocquentin, J., de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2002. Une nouvelle espèce de Podocnemis (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae) provenant du Néogène de la formation Solimões, Acre, Brésil. Geobios 35, 677–686.
Murelaga, X., Pereda Suberbiola, X., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Rage, J.-C., Duffaud, S., Astibia, H., Badiola, A., 2002. Amphibians and reptiles from the Early Miocene of the Bardenas Reales of Navarre (Ebro basin, Iberian Peninsula). Geobios 35, 347–365.
Godinot, M., de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2003. Arguments for a mammalian and reptilian dispersal from Asia to Europe during the Paleocene–Eocene boundary interval. Deinsea 10, 255–275.
Gaillard, C., Bernier, P., Barale, G., Bourseau, J.-P., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Buffetaut, E., Ezquerra, R., Gall, J.C, Renous, S., Wenz, S., 2003. A giant Upper Jurassic turtle revealed by its trackways. Lethaia 36, 315–322.
Néraudeau, D., Allain, R., Perrichot, V., Videt, B., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Guillocheau, F., Philippe, M., Rage, J.-C., Vullo, R., 2003. Découverte d’un dépôt paralique à bois fossiles, ambre insectifère et restes d’Iguanodontidae (Dinosauria, Ornithopoda) dans le Cénomanien inférieur de Fouras (Charente-Maritime, Sud-Ouest de la France). C. R. Palevol 2, 221–230.
Gaudant, J.,Carvallo, O., Courme-Riault, M.-D., Fonaciari, E., Lauriat-Rage, A., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Merle, D. 2007. Paléontologie des marnes tortoniennes affleurant dans le lit du Tanaro, près d’Alba (Piémont, Italie). Rivista Piemontese di Storia Naturale 28, 3–51.
Renous, S., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Depecker, M., Davenport, J., Bels, V., 2008. Evolution of Locomotion in Aquatic Turtles. In: Wyneken, J., Godfrey, M.H., Bels, V. (Eds.), Biology of Turtles, 5. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp. 97–138.
Jalil, N.E., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Bardet, N., Vacant, R., Bouya, B., Amaghzaz, M., Meslouh, S., 2009. Euclastes acutirostris, a new species of littoral turtle (Cryptodira, Cheloniidae) from the Palaeocene phosphates of Morocco (Oulad Abdoun Basin, Danian-Thanetian). C. R. Palevol 8, 447–449.
Vullo, R., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Néraudeau, D., Durrieu, N., 2010. Turtles from the Early Cenomanian paralic deposits (Late Cretaceous) of Charentes, France. Oryctos 9, 37–48.
Pérez-García, A., de Lapparent de Broin, F., 2013. A new species of Neochelys (Chelonii, Podocnemididae) from the Ypresian (Early Eocene) of the South of France. C. R. Palevol 12, 269–277.
Bardet, N., Jalil, N.E., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Germain, D., Lambert, O., Amaghzaz, M., 2013. A giant chelonioid turtle from the Late Cretacous of Morocco with a suction feeding apparatus unique among tetrapods. Plos One 8, e63586.
Gmira, S., de Lapparent de Broin F., Geraads, D., Lefèvre, D., Mohib, A., Raynal, J.-P., 2013. Les tortues du Pliocène d’Ahl al Oughlam (Casablanca, Maroc) et de localités mio-pliocènes avoisinantes. Geodiversitas 35, 691–733.
Martin, J.E., Smith, T., de Lapparent de Broin, F., Escuillié, F., Delfino, M., 2014. Late Palaeocene eusuchian remains from Mont de Berru, France, and the origin of the alligatoroid Diplocynodon. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 172, 867–891.
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(Color online.) France de Lapparent de Broin, with Saïd Meslouh (geologist), at Khouribga, Morocco, in May 2008. In the foreground: the skull of the strange turtle Ocepechelon bouyai described by Bardet et al. (2013).
(Couleur en ligne.) France de Lapparent de Broin, avec Saïd Meslouh (géologue), à Khouribga, Maroc, en mai 2008. Au premier plan : le crâne de l’étrange tortue Ocepechelon bouyia décrite par Bardet et al. (2013).
Most of the participants of the ‘Première table ronde internationale sur les tortues fossiles’ held at the Paris Museum, 10–14 October 1983. 1: R.C. Wood, 2: P. Pritchard, 3: H.H. Schleich, 4: D. Smith, 5: P. Meylan, 6: E.S. Gaffney, 7: R. Hirayama, 8: T. Kotsakis, 9: E. Jiménez-Fuentes, 10: M.C. Groessens-Van Dick, 11: M. Młynarski, 12: Mrs Moody, 13: R.T.J. Moody, 14: F. de Lapparent de Broin, 15: R. Bour.
La plupart des participants à la « Première table ronde internationale sur les tortues fossiles » tenue au Muséum, à Paris, les 10–14 octobre 1983. 1 : R.C. Wood, 2 : P. Pritchard, 3 : H.H. Schleich, 4 : D. Smith, 5 : P. Meylan, 6 : E.S. Gaffney, 7 : R. Hirayama, 8 : T. Kotsakis, 9 : E. Jiménez-Fuentes, 10 : M.C. Groessens-Van Dick, 11 : M. Młynarski, 12 : Mme Moody, 13 : R.T.J. Moody, 14 : F. de Lapparent de Broin, 15 : R. Bour.
Modified from a figure in de Broin (1984a).
Alienochelys selloumide Lapparent de Broin et al., 2014a, from the Late Maastrichtian of Morocco. Holotype. Skull with its lower jaw in A, dorsal; B, ventral; C, left lateral slightly dorsal (with the axis vertebra lying in the orbit); D, dorso-posterior; and E, fronto-dorsal views. Atlas, F, left neural arch with a fragment of the intercentrum in left lateral view. Scale bars, 10 cm.
Alienochelys selloumide Lapparent de Broin et al., 2014a, du Maastrichtien supérieur du Maroc. Holotype. Crâne avec sa mandibule inférieure en vues dorsale (A), ventrale (B), latérale gauche légèrement dorsale, avec l’axis déplacé dans l’orbite (C), dorso-postérieure (D) et antéro-dorsale (E). Atlas, arc neural gauche avec un fragment de l’intercentrum, vue latérale gauche (F). Échelle, 10 cm.
Modified from de Lapparent de Broin et al., 2014a.
Chelodina alanrixide Lapparent de Broin and Molnar, 2001, from the Eocene of Australia. Reconstruction of the carapace in dorsal view (doted areas: missing parts).
Chelodina alanrixide Lapparent de Broin et Molnar, 2001, de l’Eocène d’Australie. Reconstitution de la carapace en vue dorsale (zones en pointillé : parties manquantes).