More than 160 years ago , paleontologists found a partial fogey of a 70 - million - year - previous elephantine ocean turtle , the only known example of its particular species . This week , they found the other half .
Top image : Two partial fossil one-half put together / viaDrexel University .
The second half was found by an amateur fossil huntsman in New Jersey who donated it to the New Jersey State Museum . Seeing the similarities between this elephantine ocean turtleneck and the Atlantochelys mortoni presently in the accumulation at Drexel University , they brought the two halves together to see if they had found a second good example of the species .
They were surprised to line up that the two pieces fit together like a puzzle to form a single humerus . It was n’t just the same species , it was actually the same bone .
The discovery is n’t just an opportunity for place together a centuries erstwhile paleontology puzzler , though — with the full fossil , researcher were able to calculate the size of the turtle . It was about 10 foot tenacious , one of the large ever find researcher ’s say , as this sorcerous artist ’s illustration of the polo-neck and a modern diver — more than 70 million twelvemonth apart — express :
Image : Jason Poole / viaDrexel University .
Paleontology
Daily Newsletter
Get the good technical school , science , and finish news in your inbox daily .
News from the hereafter , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
