A team of researchers has identified a previously unknown extinct species of freshwater turtles far larger than any alive today. The team named the animal after a fictional turtle said to have created the universe.
Scientists say the turtle probably had an omnivorous diet and could have fallen prey to human expansionImage: Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung/dpa/picture alliance
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Fossil researchers led by Gabriel Ferreira from Germany's University of Tübingen have identified one of the largest freshwater turtle species — with a shell about 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) long.
While such large animals were known to exist millions of years ago, Peltocephalus maturin is the youngest known occurrence of giant freshwater turtles. It lived much more recently, between 40,000 and 9,000 years ago in what is known as the late Pleistocene period.
The fossil remains — part of the armored reptile's lower jaw – were collected by gold miners at a quarry in Porto Velho, Brazil.
Analysis revealed that the animal was far larger than present-day freshwater turtles like the Asian narrow-headed softshell, which has a maximum shell length of 140 centimeters.
"This is very surprising because freshwater turtles — in contrast to their terrestrial and marine relatives — rarely have such gigantic forms," said Ferreira.
"In the past, we only know of a few turtles living in fresh waters that had a shell length of more than 150 centimeters," Ferreira said.
The fossil remains — part of the armored reptile's lower jaw — were collected by gold minersImage: Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung/dpa/picture alliance
Ferreira explained that the youngest previously known giant fossils came from the Miocene era — about 23 million to 5 million years ago.
The research team believes the species is related to the modern big-headed Amazon turtle, Peltocephalus dumerilianus. The scientists assume that the creature had an omnivorous diet.
"We named the new species after the giant turtle 'Maturin,' an overarching protagonist in the Stephen King multiverse," said Ferreira. "Maturin is responsible for the creation of the universe in King’s novels and films."
The new find suggests a coexistence that the turtle lived alongside early human inhabitants in the Amazon region.
"People settled in the Amazon region around 12,600 years ago. We also know that large tortoises have been on the diet of hominins [the taxonomic group that includes humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas] since the Paleolithic."
However, it is unclear whether Peltocephalus maturin was part of early settlers' diets and whether it, together with other South American megafauna, fell prey to human expansion.
"Here we need more data from the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits of the Amazon Basin," Ferreira said.
Sea turtle poachers become their protectors
A Philippine initiative to protect sea turtles uses the experience of their former poachers. It is not only the turtles that benefit from the program.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
Night visit to the beach
"Pawikan" is the name given by the inhabitants of the Philippine province of La Union to the endangered olive ridley sea turtles, whose females prefer the region's beaches as nesting sites. After successfully laying her eggs at night, this female has laboriously dragged herself back to the Lingayen Gulf. She is observed by Carlos Tamayo, head of the local sea turtle conservation initiative CURMA.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
On the hunt
Equipped with a wooden stick, a bucket and a headlamp, Johnny Manlugay searches for sea turtle nests every night on the beaches of La Union. The 55-year-old can easily spot nesting sites, having been trained to track the animals and their eggs by his grandfather. In his youth, Manlugay's family traded or ate the eggs.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
Sea turtles are endangered
But the animals, coveted for their eggs, meat and shells, are now under species protection. Due to hunting and the loss of natural habitats, almost all sea turtle species are considered endangered. For that reason, the conservation initiative has turned former poachers into allies.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
Stealing eggs for a cause
Former poachers now fight to preserve the animals, by raising awareness and offering incentives. "We didn't know poaching was illegal and that we should not eat turtle eggs and meat," Manlugay told the Reuters news agency. When he finds a nest, he carefully transfers each egg into his pail, along with some sand from the turtle nests.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
From market to hatchery
The rescued eggs will not make their way to a market, but to a hatchery run by the conservation program. There, Manlugay will receive four times what he might earn by selling them elsewhere. "We talked to the poachers, and it turned out that poaching was just another means for them to earn a living. They had no choice," explained operations director Carlos Tomayo.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
Hatching from protected nests
Sea turtles lay, on average, 100 eggs to a nest. The number of nests ranges between 35 and 40 each season, which runs from October to February. Moving nests to hatcheries not only protects them from poachers, but also from environmental hazards, allowing baby turtles like this one to hatch safely.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
A basin full of turtles
"Last season alone, for example, we had 75 nests and we released close to 9,000 hatchlings," Tamayo says, while taking a basin full of turtles to the beach to be released into the sea, accompanied by joyful spectators keen to watch the spectacle.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
Waiting for release
In the tub, the newly hatched baby turtles wait impatiently for their instinctively predetermined march toward the sea. The females will one day try to return to this very beach to lay their eggs. The males, meanwhile, remain in the sea their entire lives.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
Scurrying toward the sea
Tourists flock to the spectacle of the blue-gray hatchlings scurrying madly down the sloping beach to reach the water after they're released.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
Locals benefit from species conservation
Former poacher Jessie Cabagbag, who grew up eating turtle meat and eggs, said the extra income from egg collection is a big help to his family, who live mainly from fishing. On La Union beach, he helps Carlos Tamayo tag mother turtles to monitor the animals' population.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
New brood leaves the beach
The successful release of a new brood also makes the former poachers happy. "I am truly proud. Even our neighbors, they appreciate what I do, because it is not easy. I am happy that I get to contribute to the conservation of the 'pawikan'," said Cabagbag.
Image: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS
Chance of preservation
The egg collectors' growing awareness of the threat to the sea turtles offers a chance to preserve the ancient reptiles. But whether this baby turtle will return to its birth beach remains uncertain. Every year, hundreds of thousands of sea turtles die as they are unintentionally caught up in fishing nets.
