Fossil of a giant turtle the size of a car have been unearthed in south America

Stupendemys geographicusIMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA
Image caption,

The Stupendemys geographicus was roughly the size of a car

Fossils of a turtle the size of a car have been unearthed in what is now northern South America.

The turtle – Stupendemys geographicus – is believed to have roamed the region between 13 and 7 million years ago.

The fossils were found in Colombia’s Tatacoa Desert and Venezuela’s Urumaco region.

The first Stupendemys fossils were discovered in the 1970s but many mysteries have remained about the 4-metre long animal.

It was about the size and weight of a saloon car and inhabited a huge wetland across northern South America before the Amazon and Orinoco rivers were formed.

Stupendemys geographicus fossilIMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA
Image caption,

The turtle was far bigger than humans
Presentational white space

The male had forward pointing horns either side of its shell. Deep scars found in the fossils indicate that the horns were probably used like lances to fight rivals.

Researchers say they’ve found a 3-metre long shell and a lower jaw bone which has given them more clues about its diet.

They think the giant turtle lived at the bottom of lakes and rivers alongside giant crocodile eating a diverse diet of small animals, vegetation, fruit and seeds.

Stupendemys’s large size was crucial in defending itself from other large predators. One of the Stupendemys fossils was found with a giant crocodile tooth embedded in it.

Colombian and Venezuelan paleontologists work together during the excavation of the giant turtle Stupendemys geographicus in northern VenezuelaIMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS
Image caption,

Paleontologists at work in Venezuela’s Urumaco region

Related Posts

Breaking the Silence: The First Glimpse of Homosexuality in Western Art

To сeɩeЬгаte Ƥгіde moпtһ, we’ɩɩ Ьe сoпtіпᴜіпɡ oᴜг ѕeгіeѕ аЬoᴜt qᴜeeг іdeпtіtу, LɡƁTQ+ гіɡһtѕ, апd qᴜeeг агt һіѕtoгу. We’ⱱe аɩгeаdу сoⱱeгed tһe toрісѕ of Tһe Fɩаɡѕ of Ƥгіde апd Iпѕрігіпɡ…

UFO Docked On ISS , Then NASA Stops Live Stream After Realizing The Situation

A NASA video of a UFO parked on the International Space Station has surfaced on the Internet, and it appears that NASA purposely paused the camera transmission…

The best аlіeп interview I’ve ever seen is by far this one (Video)

Your outlook on life will be permanently changed by what you experience in the next moments. The following three movies are three of the most astounding prisoner…

Unsettling Portal Seen in Florida’s Night Sky (Video)

In 2012, NASA made a truly amazing discovery about the existence of portals to other dimensions. A NASA-funded study showed that the data obtained by the THEMIS…

Fleet Of UFOs Spotted Uпderwater Off The Coast Of Greece Oп Google Earth By Expert Alieп Hυпter

Looks like it’s time to stick aпother piп iп the UFO map as aп expert alieп hυпter claims to have discovered a fleet of “alieп vessels” υпderwater off the coast…

An unbelievable story revealed: An ‘alien’ was found alive by a farmer in Mexico

An almost unbelievable story revealed: An ‘alien’ was found alive by a farmer in Mexico Mexican TV revealed an almost unbelievable story that in May, 2007, a…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *