Ctenochelys stenoporus is the type species. It was originally thought to be a species of Toxochelys; T. bauri, until Sternberg declared it a separate genus.[3] The two genera are similar in carapaces.[1]
Ctenochelys acris was first named by Zangerl in 1953 and is now thought to be one of the earliest ancestors of modern cheloniids.[6]
Phylogeny
Ctenochelys in a cladogram from the analysis of Gentry et al., 2019:[7]
^Zangerl R (1953). "The vertebrate fauna of the Selma Formation of Alabama. Part IV. The turtles of the family Toxochelyidae". Fieldiana Geology Memoirs: 137–277.
^Gentry AD (2016). "New material of the Late Cretaceous marine turtle Ctenochelys acris Zangerl, 1953 and a phylogenetic reassessment of the 'toxochelyid'-grade taxa". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 15 (8): 675–696. doi:10.1080/14772019.2016.1217087. S2CID88758027.