Oct 25

These turtles could eat you with a single bite

Earth unreal writes “10 million years ago, turtles could eat you with a single bite. The world’s largest turtle that roamed South America 10 million years ago – the Stupendemys Geographicus

Stupendemys is an extinct genus of freshwater side-necked turtle, belonging to the family Podocnemididae. It is the largest freshwater turtle known to have existed, with a carapace over 2 meters long. Its fossils have been found in northern South America, in rocks dating from the Middle Miocene to the very start of the Pliocene, about 13 to 5 million years ago. Male specimens are known to have possessed bony horns growing from the front edges of the shell and the discovery of the fossil of a young adult shows that the carapace of these turtles flattens with age. A fossil skull described in 2021 indicates that Stupendemys was a generalist feeder.”

2 Responses to “These turtles could eat you with a single bite”

  1. m99

    OMGoodness! I love turtles that exist today, but might have had a hard time loving this one. I never, ever heard of this species. Thanks for psoting this Wes. You never cease to amaze me.

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