A Tortoise That Meteors Couldn’t Destroy Has Been Discovered

Scientists, 66.5 million years ago, they discovered an ancient soft-shelled turtle that they say lived at the same time as Tyrannosaurus Rex and triceratops in North Dakota. Turtles are hardy creatures, but they were not expected to be this hardy.

Thursday Cretaceous Research According to a new study published in the journal Nature, this fossilized creature is a creature that lived during the late Cretaceous period, just before the mass extinction event of the dinosaurs. soft-shelled turtle One of the oldest known species.

The soft-shelled turtle that survived the extinction of the dinosaurs

Research advisor Peter Dodson, “Through this research, we learned more about the species that survived and disappeared during the catastrophe that ended the Age of Dinosaurs. It seems that the dinosaurs we thought were powerful did not survive, and this turtle survived.” says.

The fossil of the new turtle species was discovered in 1975 in the Hell Creek Formation in North Dakota, along with a specimen of triceratops. However, the fossil is where the research began. until 2013 It was housed at the Appalachian State University.

scientific name hutchemys walkerorum tortoise, south asia giant soft-shelled turtles resembles the soft-shelled turtles found today. However, the fossil covering the stomach and abdomen bigger and have stronger bones can be seen.

The researchers say it was a very rare occurrence to find an occurrence of these turtles before the dinosaurs went extinct. Environmental scientist Steven Jasinski, who led the study, said: “We’re starting to learn more about this extinct group of turtles and better understand their evolution, including how they coped with mass extinction.” says.

The newly discovered subfamily of soft-shelled turtles originated in Asia, possibly mid to late, the researchers said. in the early Cretaceous period originated in North America during the late Cretaceous. He says he immigrated.