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(NEW YORK) — A new species of turtle that roamed Earth alongside dinosaurs and flying reptiles has been discovered in Madagascar.
The near-complete fossil of the quick-mouthed frog turtle, or Sahonachelys mailakavava, was found in the Maevarano Formation in northwestern Madagascar, according to a study published in
Royal Society Open Science. The formation “has yielded a series of exceptional fossils” over the last three decades, and in 2015 archaeologists discovered the turtle’s skeleton while removing overburden — rock or soil overlying a mineral deposit — from the formation.
The freshwater turtle is noted for its frog-like appearance — an unusually flattened skull, a slender lower jaw and enlarged tongue bones — and researchers said it was likely a “suction feeder” that ate small-bodied living prey, such as insect larvae and tadpoles by using quick strikes.
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The animal would have lived alongside dinosaurs in the late Cretaceous period.
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On Location: May 5, 2021
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A new species of turtle that roamed Earth alongside dinosaurs and flying reptiles has been discovered in Madagascar.
The near-complete fossil of the quick-mouthed frog turtle, or Sahonachelys mailakavava, was found in the Maevarano Formation in northwestern Madagascar, according to a study published in Royal Society Open Science. The formation "has yielded a series of exceptional fossils" over the last three decades, and in 2015 archaeologists discovered the turtle's skeleton while removing overburden -- rock or soil overlying a mineral deposit -- from the formation.