Car-sized prehistoric South American turtle was built for battle
- Scarred fossils show Stupendemys geographicus may have used horns like a lance to fight over mates or territory
- Ancient reptile, which grew up to four metres long and weighed more than a tonne, is the second largest known turtle
One of the largest turtles that ever lived prowled the lakes and rivers of northern South America from about 13 million years ago to 7 million years ago – and this car-sized freshwater beast was built for battle.
Scientists said on Wednesday they have unearthed new fossils of the turtle, called Stupendemys geographicus, in Colombia’s Tatacoa Desert and Venezuela’s Urumaco region that for the first time provide a comprehensive understanding of the big reptile, which got up to four metres (13 feet) long and could weigh more than a tonne.
Stupendemys males, unlike the females, boasted sturdy front-facing horns on both sides of the carapace – or shell – very close to the neck. Deep scars detected in the fossils indicated that these horns may have been used like a lance for fighting with other Stupendemys males over mates or territory.
Fighting occurs among certain turtles alive today, particularly between male tortoises, according to palaeontologist Edwin Cadena of the Universidad del Rosario in Bogota, who led the research published in the journal Science Advances.
Stupendemys is the second largest known turtle, behind seagoing Archelon, which lived roughly 70 million years ago at the end of the age of dinosaurs and reached about 4.6 metres (15 feet) in length.