Stupendemys geographicus. It is the scientific name of the largest turtle to have ever lived on Earth and whose fossils have just been discovered in Colombia and Venezuela, reports the journal Sciences Advances this Wednesday. The juggernaut weighing more than 1,000 kilos populated the world's fresh waters around ten million years ago.
On an mission to South America, an international team of geologists has removed remains of the jaw as well as the shells of certain specimens from the ground. The fossils allowed them to estimate at 1,145 kilos the weight of one of these turtles. It was also to be 2.4 meters long and 3 meters wide.
Horns on the carapace of males
Another major discovery: the presence of horns on the shell of one of the males. Scientists believe they were used as a defense during courtship displays or fights. This giant tortoise, despite its impressive size, was the victim of predators also very imposing, like caimans living in the same region at the time. Bite marks and a tooth were also discovered on one of the shells.
The first identification of the Stupendemys geographicus dates only from the 1970s. As the fossils of this species are very rare, scientists had gathered little information about it.
With this new discovery in South America, scientists have been able to complete the turtle family tree. They thus consider that the mastodon weighs 100 times more imposing than its closest relative and descendant, the tortoise Peltocephalus dumerilianus , native of Amazonia.
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