Colombia discovered giant turtle fossils dating back 57 million years ago

Paleontologists have just discovered giant turtle fossils dating back 57 million years ago in Colombia .

 The turtle Puentemys mushaisaensis is estimated to be about 1.5 meters long. (Illustration photo: Especial)

The Universidad del Rosario, which led the expedition, said the fossil of the turtle Puentemys mushaisaensis, estimated to be about 1.5 meters long, was found in the mountainous municipality of Socha, northeastern Colombia.

The source affirmed that this is an unprecedented discovery in this area and is the key to understanding the geography of South America during the Paleocene (65 million years ago) and Eocene (56-33.9 million years ago).

Paleontologist Edwin Cadena emphasized that the fact that the fossil was discovered 500km south of a similar specimen previously found helps scientists recreate and visualize the landscape in the North of the South. In the past, instead of mountains rising to more than 5,000 meters above sea level like today, there may have been interconnected lakes and low mountain ranges.

The discovery also helps scientists better understand the water environment in northern South America during the Paleogene period (about 66 to 23 million years ago), the first geological period after the extinction of dinosaurs.

This period was the time when mammals evolved from small, simple forms into diverse animals. Many continental movements also occurred during this time period.