Archelon
large Late Cretaceous turtle
Archelon was a huge marine turtle (Testudines) that was the size of a car. It lived in North America 74 million years ago (from the Upper Cretaceous) in the epeiric inland sea called the Western Interior Seaway. Fossils have been found in the U.S. states of Kansas and South Dakota.
| Archelon Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous
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| Type specimen (YPM 3000) of Archelon ischyros | |
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| Genus: | Archelon
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| Archelon ischyros Wieland, 1896
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This carnivore was up to 4.6 metres (15 ft) long.[1][2] It had a wide, flattened shell, paddle-like legs, a long, narrow head, weak jaws, and a short, pointed tail. Its only predators were probably the larger mosasaurs. From its beak, its own food was probably squid.
Archelon, like other turtles, had a solidly-roofed skull with no opening (except for eyes, and nostrils).
References
change- ↑ World's largest sea turtle. Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. [1] Archived 2016-03-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Mike Everhart 2004/2012 "Marine turtles from the Western Interior Sea". Oceansofkansas.com. Retrieved 2009-03-14.