Turtle "Look-Alike" Stamps
The following stamps depict extinct animals which are NOT turtles
or tortoises, but which look superficially very much like chelonians.
For this reason they have been included in various lists of turtle stamps
in the past, and some of them have even been described as turtle stamps in
major catalogs. This has caused confusion and misunderstanding. The stamps
are included here in an effort to explain the situation and to help resolve
the confusion.
Note that none of the animals on the stamps listed below belong to even the
same Sub-Class to which turtles belong (Sub-Class Anapsida). The only
relationship that these animals have with turtles is that they are all
reptiles. Thus, these animals are no more closely related to turtles than
are snakes or lizards.
Henodus sp. - Date Unknown. See taxonomy of Henodus under
Sierra Leone, below. These stamps are
Cinderellas created by overprinting blocks of four old Soviet
and Russian stamps w/ a large image of Henodus, a denomination
of 5000, and the words "Postage" and "ADIGEY". The old stamps
that were overprinted were Scott Russia 5724, 6060A, 6066A, and
possibly others. Each new Cinderella occupies four of the
old Soviet or Russian stamps. Adigey is an autonomous
republic of Russia, located in the northwest Caucasus. Its
capital is Maykop.
Henodus sp. - Date Unknown. See taxonomy of Henodus under
Sierra Leone, below. This stamp is from a
sheet of nine, all depicting prehistoric animals. In addition to
the stamp, there is a partial view of a Henodus head in the bottom
margin of the sheet.
Scott # 801f - Placochelys sp. - 1995. This extinct reptile is
a Placodont. It is not related to turtles but appears turtle-like due to
convergent evolution. It belongs to the Sub-Class Euriapsida, Order
Placodontia, Family Placochelyidae.
Scott # 1996 - Placochelys placodonta - 21 Sept 69. This extinct
reptile is a Triassic placodont belonging to the Sub-Class Euriapsida,
Order Placodontia, Family Placochelyidae. It is in no way related to turtles
but appears turtle-like due to convergent evolution. The Scott catalog
incorrectly calls it a turtle.
Scott # 1354d - Placochelys sp. - 28 April 00. A 3000MT denom. stamp
on a sheet of nine se-tenant stamps. Another one of the nine stamps
depicts Archelon, a true turtle. The taxonomy of Placochelys is
discussed under Hungary, above.
Scott # 1356 - Henodus sp. - 28 April 00? A 20000MT s/s w/ a single stamp
depicting Henodus sp. The generic name is misspelled as "Honodus"
on the stamp. The taxonomy of Henodus is discussed under
Sierra Leone, below.
Scott # 2278f - Placochelys sp. - 1 June 99. This stamp contains two errors
in addition to the fact that it is not a turtle. The first error is that the
animal depicted is identified as "Brachisaurus". The correct spelling is
"Brachiosaurus". The second, and far more serious error, is that the animal
depicted is NOT Brachiosaurus. It is Placochelys, whose classification is
presented under Gabon and Hungary,
above.
Scott # 618 - Thaumatosaurus victor - 30 June 65. This extinct
reptile is a Jurassic plesiosaur belonging to the Sub-Class Euriapsida,
Order Sauropterigia, Sub-Order Plesiosauria, Family Thaumatosauridae.
It is in no way related to turtles but appears turtle-like due to
convergent evolution.
Scott # 1498n - Henodus sp. - 8 June 92. This extinct reptile
is from the Upper Triassic of Europe. It belongs to the Sub-Class
Euriapsida, Order Placodontia, Family Henodontidae. It is in no way
related to turtles but appears turtle-like due to convergent evolution.
Scott # 1120i - Henodus sp. - 1995. See taxonomy of Henodus
and comments under Sierra Leone, above.
