Dermochelyidae

Dermochelyidae is a family of sea turtles which has seven extinct genera and one extant genus, containing one living species, the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). The oldest fossils of the group date to the Late Cretaceous.

Classification of known genera

The following list is based on Gentry et al. (2025):

Genus †Arabemys Tong et al., 1999

Genus †Eosphargis Lydekker, 1889

Genus †Gigantochelys Mousa et al., 2026

Genus †Helianthochelys Sterli et al., 2025

Genus †Mesodermochelys Hirayama & Chitoku, 1996

Subfamily Dermochelyinae Weems, 1988

Tribe †Uelocini Gentry et al., 2025

Genus †Cardiochelys Moody, 1993

Genus †Natemys Wood, Johnson-Gove, Gaffney & Maley, 1996

Genus †Ueloca Gentry et al., 2025

Genus †Zealosphargis Gentry et al., 2025

Tribe Dermochelyini Gentry et al., 2025

Genus †Cosmochelys Andrews, 1919

Genus Dermochelys Blainville, 1816 (including the extant leatherback turtle)

Genus †Egyptemys Wood, Johnson-Gove, Gaffney & Maley, 1996

Genus †Psephophorus von Meyer, 1847

The Late Cretaceous Japanese sea turtle †Mesodermochelys was formerly considered a member of this family, which would make it one of the oldest members of the group. However, a 2012 taxonomic revision found it to not be closely related to Dermochelys, and more likely a basal panchelonioid. Similarly, the genus †Arabemys Tong et al., 1999 from the Maastrichtian or Early Eocene of Saudi Arabia shows osteoderm morphology unknown among any other dermochelyid, and may be an archosaur instead. Excluding these two, the earliest known dermochelyids include is the basal genera Gigantochelys, from the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Egypt and Eosphargis from the ?Late Paleocene and Early Eocene of Europe and North America.

The two tribes of Dermochelyinae appear to have diverged in the Middle Eocene. The Uelocini saw most of its diversity in the Paleogene, with the last surviving member being Natemys from the Early Miocene. Dermochelyini also saw several genera appear around the Eocene, and Psephophorus survived up to the end of the Miocene, but Dermochelys is the only extant member.