Giant Turtle Fossils Discovered in Colombia

Paleontologists and archeologists have found the 57 million-year-old fossil of a giant turtle in Colombia. This discovery provides a key to understanding South American geography during the Paleocene and Eocene eras. 

Rosario University leads the investigation and has told the press that the reptile puentemys mushaisaensis fossil had a length of 1.5 meters. It found in the rocky municipality of Soacha, near the Colombian capital, Bogota. 

This is an incredibly unique discovery given that no discovery of this scale οr similar to it has been made in the Andean region; these specimens are mostly found hundreds of kilometers away. The closest fossils that had previously been found were at El Cerrejon, a coal mine close to the Caribbean Ocean. 

“Finding (the fossil) 500 kilometers to the south allows us to reconstruct and understand what the landscapes of northern South America were like: instead of the current Andean mountains of up to more than 5,000 meters above sea level, there were connected lakes and very low-altitude mountain ranges,” explained Edwin Cadena, the paleontologist in charge of the research.

He added that the study “allows us to better understand the connectivity of the aquatic environments of northern South America during a part of the geological time known as the Paleocene and Eocene.” Both epochs are part of the Paleogene (66 to 23 million years ago), the first geological period after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Other remarkable fossil discoveries in Colombia

Colombia has been quite the treasure trove for paleontologists, mainly thanks to its unique geographical location and environmental conditions which have allowed fossils to be remarkably preserved. 

Perhaps the most important discovery made was the Titanboa. This is a giant prehistoric snake and is one of the largest ever discovered. It lived in the Paleocene epoch, almost 60 million years ago. This snake could grow up to 48 feet long and weigh up to an astonishing 2,500 pounds. Its fossils were also found in the Cerrejon coal mine.

An almost complete fossil of the Kronosaurus, a prehistoric marine reptile, was discovered in 1977 near Villa de Leyva. Situated in the Boyaca department, this town serves as the hub of Colombian fossil heritage, with dozens of marine reptiles, including ichthyosaurs, and mollusks such as ammonites being preserved in the local museums.