Ancient Sea Turtle Was Ten Feet Long
Posted on March 25, 2014
Drexel University paleontologists have determined that a huge ancient sea turtle, Atlantochelys mortoni, was ten feet long after connecting two partial limb fossils. The two fossils were discovered in New Jersey at least 163 years apart. Ted Daeschler and Jason Schein explain how the two turtle bones finally came together. Take a look:
Dr. Daeschler told BBC News, "When we put the two halves together, we were flabbergasted. We said, 'no - that can't be!' We even turned them around trying to show they didn't match, but they're obviously supposed to be together."
The ancient sea turtle lived 70 to 75 million years ago. Paleontologists say the enormous sea turtle may have resembled modern loggerhead turtles. Here is a photo of the two halves of the fossil limb bone:
A report on the discovery was published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The discovery is also featured in the April 2014 issue of National Geographic.