Archelon

Archelon Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous
Type specimen (YPM 3000) of Archelon ischyros
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Protostegidae
Genus:	Archelon
Binomial name
Archelon ischyros Wieland, 1896

Archelon was a huge marine turtle (Testudines) that was the size of a car. It lived in North America 74 million years ago (from the Upper Cretaceous) in the epeiric inland sea called the Western Interior Seaway. Fossils have been found in the U.S. states of Kansas and South Dakota.

This carnivore was up to 4.6 metres (15 ft) long.^[1][2] It had a wide, flattened shell, paddle-like legs, a long, narrow head, weak jaws, and a short, pointed tail. Its only predators were probably the larger mosasaurs. From its beak, its own food was probably squid.

Archelon, like other turtles, had a solidly-roofed skull with no opening (except for eyes, and nostrils).

1. ↑ World's largest sea turtle. Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. [1] Archived 2016-03-12 at the Wayback Machine
2. ↑ Mike Everhart 2004/2012 "Marine turtles from the Western Interior Sea". Oceansofkansas.com. Retrieved 2009-03-14.