Archelon

ancient ocean · giant reptile · extinct turtle · Cretaceous

Massive ocean turtle. Archelon was the largest turtle ever to live, measuring 4.6 meters (about 15 feet) from head to tail. That's longer than a car and heavier than two hippos combined.

Lived long ago. Archelon swam in Earth's oceans during the Late Cretaceous period, around 66 million years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the planet.

Found in shale. Scientists only know about Archelon from fossils discovered in the Pierre Shale, a type of rock found in South Dakota. The most famous skeleton was found there in 1896.

Unique family tree. Archelon belonged to a turtle family called Protostegidae that went completely extinct. It was not actually closely related to today's leatherback sea turtles, even though scientists once thought it was.

Named by a paleontologist. An American fossil scientist named George Reber Wieland discovered and named Archelon in 1896, creating a name that means 'ancient turtle.'