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Judi Lynn

(160,217 posts)
Tue Sep 8, 2015, 11:00 PM Sep 2015

Oldest fossil sea turtle discovered in Colombia

Oldest fossil sea turtle discovered in Colombia

"Santanachelys gaffneyi is the oldest known sea turtle" -- this sentence from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia does not stand valid any more.

Ians | London, September 8, 2015 | Shraddha Jandial | UPDATED 11:20 IST



World's oldest sea turtle. (Credits: PaleoBios)

A fossil sea turtle from Colombia is at least 120 million years old. Scientists have termed it as the world's oldest sea turtle. The almost completely preserved skeleton from the Cretaceous period, with a length of nearly two metres, shows all of the characteristic traits of modern marine turtles.

"Santanachelys gaffneyi is the oldest known sea turtle" -- this sentence from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia is no longer up to date. "We described a fossil sea turtle from Colombia that is about 25 million years older," said Edwin Cadena from Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany.

"The turtle described by us as Desmatochelys padillai sp. originates from Cretaceous sediments and is at least 120 million years old," Cadena pointed out.

The fossilised remains of the ancient reptiles were discovered in Colombia in 2007. Cadena and his colleague examined the almost complete skeleton, four additional skulls and two partially preserved shells, and they placed the fossils in the turtle group Chelonioidea, based on various morphological characteristics.

More:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/oldest-fossil-sea-turtle-discovered-in-colombia/1/467933.html

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Oldest fossil sea turtle discovered in Colombia (Original Post) Judi Lynn Sep 2015 OP
Damn, I thought Mitch McConnell was caught buying drugs mindwalker_i Sep 2015 #1
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