![]() The new finding suggests that gigantism in turtles likely evolved in at least two separate evolutionary lineages. ![]() The world's largest-ever turtle is the extinct Archelon ischyros, which lived in North America and had a maximum body length of 15 feet (4.6 m). It likely cruised Europe's ancient oceans between 83.6 million and 72.1 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago). The new species, which researchers named Leviathanochelys aenigmatica, was identified from a complete pelvis fossil and fragments of fossilized shell. The massive reptile likely had a body length of around 12.3 feet (3.7 meters) - more than double the size of modern marine turtles - and is the largest turtle species ever uncovered in Europe. Paleontologists have unearthed an extinct, never-before-seen species of giant sea turtle in Spain. An artists interpretation of what the newly discovered turtle Leviathanochelys aenigmatica might have looked like.
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