An international team of scientists has announced the discovery of "turtle of Angola," a Late Cretaceous reptile that was one of the earliest known marine turtles from Africa. The seafaring turtle, Angolachelys mbaxi, lived 90 million years ago.
Octavio Mateus, who led the project, informed me of the find today. He is a researcher at both the New University of Lisbon and the Museu da Lourinhã.
The Dinosaur Era marine turtle "represents one of the first marine amniote lineages to have invaded the South Atlantic after separation of Africa and South America," according to Mateus and his team. The researchers believe the turtle first emerged in the North Atlantic. When the new opening to the southern part of the ocean occurred, this animal, and apparently others, made a bee-line southward. A marine lizard, Angolasaurus, from the same time period has also been found, and it too was one of the first to invade the South Atlantic.
Here's what's left of the ancient turtle (its skull).
(Credit: Carlos Natario)
(Credit: Octavio Mateus)
This short video provides some idea of what it was like for Mateus and his team to look for fossils in Angola.
Tags: Amphibians and Reptiles, Animals, Dinosaur Era Animals, Extinct Animals, Invasive Animal Species,
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