Ancient giant turtle as big as a rhinoceros, extinct 66 million years ago salvaged

A specimen of one of the largest turtles ever known, measuring nearly 4 metres long, has been found in Spanish waters .

Recently, archaeologists found specimens of Archelon - an ancient turtle that became extinct around the end of the Late Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago.

Giant ancient turtle as big as a rhinoceros went extinct 66 million years ago. (Photo: Iflscience).

This is recorded as one of the largest turtles ever known on Earth, with the scientific name Leviathanochelys aenigmatica . In which, "leviathan" is the name of the sea monster in the Bible Leviathan, used to name sea turtles because of its enormous size.

According to research, the Archelon turtle specimen revealed that it could grow up to nearly 4 meters long, which is about the size of a rhinoceros. The specimen was recovered from the Cal Torrades area, located in northeastern Spain. It is believed to have been hidden under water for about 80 million years.

In addition to its incredible size, researchers also found many anatomical features on the specimen's pelvis and shell that surprised them. Some even suggested that they were looking at a new species, and possibly even a new group of turtles.

Size of the ancient turtle Charchelon compared to humans. (Photo: Iflscience).

The giant size of this turtle is an example of convergent evolution. In fact, the same trait is still found today in the giant turtles of the world that exist in North and South America.

According to the authors of the study, the discovery of the world's largest sea turtle specimen sheds light on the diversity of sea turtles and the evolutionary trend towards "gigantism" that occurred in sea turtle groups in the European region in particular, and the Cretaceous period in general.