Ctenochelyidae

Ctenochelyids Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
Diagram of Ctenochelys stenoporus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Chelonioidea
Family:	†Ctenochelyidae Karl, Biermann & Tichy, 2012 (sensu Gentry, 2018)
Type genus
†Ctenochelys Zangerl, 1953
Genera
†Asmodochelys †Ctenochelys †Peritresius †Prionochelys

Ctenochelyidae is an extinct family of sea turtles which lived in North America during the Santonian-Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous.

Classification

The family is defined as a monophyletic clade arising from the most recent ancestors of Ctenochelys and Peritresius. Fossils of ctenochelyids are known from the Western Interior Seaway and Mississippi embayment. As of 2025, four genera have been assigned to this family: Asmodochelys, Ctenochelys, Peritresius and Prionochelys.

Below is a cladogram from the analysis by Gentry, Ebersole & Kiernan (2019):

Pan-Chelonioidea	†Angolachelonia †Protostegidae †Toxochelys latiremis Chelonioidea †Ctenochelyidae †Asmodochelys parhami †Prionochelys matutina †Ctenochelys acris †Ctenochelys stenoporus †Peritresius ornatus †Peritresius martini