Palaeotrionyx is an extinct genus of softshell turtle from the Paleocene

Paleocene

The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...

 epoch of western North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.

Palaeotrionyx, like its modern relatives, had no scute

Scute

A scute or scutum is a bony external plate or scale, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, the feet of some birds or the anterior portion of the mesonotum in insects.-Properties:...

s on its carapace

Carapace

A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...

, which probably had leathery, pliable skin at the sides. Despite living several million years ago, Palaeotrionyx would have looked very similar to its modern relatives, with a long neck, a sharp beak, and three toes on each foot. It grew to around 45 centimetres (17.7 in) in length, somewhat smaller than many modern day species. Based on the diet of modern softshell turtles, it was an omnivore

Omnivore

Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...

, eating water plants, invertebrates, and perhaps small fish.