Huge giant turtle by car

Archaeologists have found fossils of giant turtles living in South America 60 million years ago. This fossil was discovered at a coal mine in Colombia called Carbomemys Cofrinii, meaning 'coal turtle'.

>>> The answer to the mystery of the evolutionary origin of the turtle

As described, this turtle is about the size of a small car today. Its skull size is about one ball. Its jaws also grow large and strong to be able to eat anything in its range from mollusks to smaller turtles, even crocodiles. Research shows that other species living in the mine gradually disappear because the food needs to satisfy the appetite of this turtle is too great.

Recreate the hunting of giant turtles

Accompanying it, the bites found on the tortoise shell show that it regularly hunts crocodiles under the lakes and almost dominates in this coal mine. Therefore, no other species has the same size as it existed at the same time, said researcher Dan Ksepka, University of North Carolina.

The researchers also discovered a nearby tortoise shell that is twice the size of a children's pool. Its thickness is determined about 1.72m. Along with fossil samples of smaller turtles at the same time, all proved that this is a giant freshwater turtle.

Archaeological research shows that this turtle appeared 5 million years after the dinosaurs disappeared in South America. This is also home to many giant animals at that time as the 14-meter-long snake was discovered before. The reason for the existence of these giant animals is a combination of many factors: the abundance of food, low carnivores, large habitats and favorable climate for reproduction. develope…

The evolutionary characteristics of living organisms aim to adapt in a timely manner to changes in natural conditions. Among the fossils discovered at the coal mine this time, a species of turtle named Cerrejonemys was found to be as thick as a current high school textbook.

Detailed descriptions of this finding are presented in the Journal of Paleontology on May 17.

Reference: Livescience