Scientists Unearth a Prehistoric Marine Turtle the Size of a Car

Fragments of the creature’s pelvis and shell were discovered in the Pyrenees

Margaret Osborne
Daily Correspondent

November 18, 2022 3:59 p.m.



An illustrated reconstruction of Leviathanochelys aenigmatica. ICRA_Arts

Researchers have unearthed the remains of a new species of gigantic marine turtle in northern Spain. Weighing about two tons and measuring 12 feet long, the prehistoric creature is the largest of its kind ever discovered in Europe.

The find was completely accidental: A hiker stumbled across some bone fragments while walking in the Pyrenees mountains, writes James Ashworth for London’s Natural History Museum. After that, a local museum and the Catalonian Department of Culture collected the remains, but no one studied them until 2021. Researchers began new excavations at the Pyrenees site and uncovered fragments of the turtle’s pelvis and carapace—the part of the shell that covers the creature’s back.

Scientists described the turtle, which they named Leviathanochelys aenigmatica, in a paper published Thursday in Scientific Reports. “Leviathan” is a nod to the animal’s large body size, and “chelys” means turtle. “Aenigmatica” translates to enigma—in reference to some of the creature’s strange characteristics, the authors write.

For example, the turtle has an “exceedingly large pelvis and shell reduction in the carapace,” Sandra Chapman, the Natural History Museum in London’s former curator of fossil reptiles and birds, tells the museum. It also has a unique bone bulging out from the side of its pelvis, which hasn’t been observed in any other living or dead turtle species. The structure appears to have connected to muscles, so the researchers believe it may have helped L. aenigmatica breathe in deep waters.

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-unearth-a-prehistoric-marine-turtle-the-size-of-a-car-180981163/