#pliocene

Go, my potato

Stupendemys geographicus

The largest species of freshwater turtles to be discovered. It had a carapace length of 2m and an estimated weight of half a ton. The horns on the shell have been hypothesized to be used in ritualistic shoving matches in similar fashion to modern tortoises.In 2021, a skull was found and it reveals that Stupendemys was a generalist feeder.

Result from the Milia 5 #paleostream! This locality, from the late Pliocene of Greece, got a lot of attention in the early 2000s for the discovery of giant probocidean remains, most notably 5 m long tusks of "Mammut" borsoni, the European Mastodon.

The locality of Milia is suited in central Greece. Since it's discovery over 3300 fossil specimens have been excavated from this sand pit that gives us a good look at Europe just before the Ice Ages hit. The climate here was quite a bit more humid and maybe slightly warmer...

Instead of open woodland and bushland today, the Hyrcanian forests in Iran might be a somewhat good comparison. These old growth forests would have been full of massive trees, in this case a giant oak is setting the stage for us, with pigs and elephants gorging themselves...

on acorns and fresh leafs. Disturbed by all this commotion a Agriotherium mother is leading away her cubs while porcupines and tortoises supplement their died with some Homotherium bones. We choose the locality of Milia 5 specifically because it shows the highest diversity...

but also abundance of animals within Milia, with big amounts of Mammut, rhinos and deer suggesting a very productive ecosystem. While you would expect large elephants and maybe rhinos you also get more exotic animals like the giant tortoise Titanochelon or the last european...

Act like Megalochelys atlas and smile, because it’s Fossil Friday! One of the largest known land turtles, scientists think this massive reptile could reach heights of 5.9 ft (1.8 m)—tall enough to look a grown human in the eye. This specimen’s shell measures some 7.4 ft (2.3 m) long and in life, it may have weighed more than 2,000 lbs (907 kg). Megalochelys lived during the Late Pliocene about 2 million years ago. The fossil on display in the Museum’s Hall of Vertebrate Origins was found in 1922 in Chandigarh, India.