Megalochelys atlas, the World's Largest Turtle
Megalochelys atlas are giant turtles that were extinct in the Miocene period until the Pleistocene period. During the dry glacier period, these species were found from western India and Pakistan to Indonesia. In Indonesia, atlas fossil Megalochelys are found in Java, Sulawesi, Timor, Sumba, and Flores with an average length of 2 meters.
Also read : Uniquely the Monument to Jesus Blessing in Manado
The discovery of the first giant tortoise of the genus Megalochelys was in Java, precisely in the District of Bumiayu, Tegal, Central Java in the 1930s. The fossil is stored in the Bandung Geology Museum. The turtle was originally given the name Geochelone atlas by van der Maarel because it resembles a similar type of Siwalik Hills, India.
Atlas megalochelys include the largest known order of Testudinidae, with a shell length of about 2.1 m; the total length is estimated at 2.5 - 2.7 m and the carapace height is around 1.8 m. The weight estimates for this taxon vary with the highest estimates reaching up to 4,000 kg in some cases.
However, the realistic weight based on the volumetric displacement of the skeleton, or conclusions based on two-dimensional skeletal images, shows that M. atlas weighs 1,000 to 2,000 kg, making M. atlas the largest known tortoise.
Classification of Megalochelys atlas
Synonym:
Reference:
Also read : Uniquely the Monument to Jesus Blessing in Manado
The discovery of the first giant tortoise of the genus Megalochelys was in Java, precisely in the District of Bumiayu, Tegal, Central Java in the 1930s. The fossil is stored in the Bandung Geology Museum. The turtle was originally given the name Geochelone atlas by van der Maarel because it resembles a similar type of Siwalik Hills, India.
Atlas megalochelys include the largest known order of Testudinidae, with a shell length of about 2.1 m; the total length is estimated at 2.5 - 2.7 m and the carapace height is around 1.8 m. The weight estimates for this taxon vary with the highest estimates reaching up to 4,000 kg in some cases.
However, the realistic weight based on the volumetric displacement of the skeleton, or conclusions based on two-dimensional skeletal images, shows that M. atlas weighs 1,000 to 2,000 kg, making M. atlas the largest known tortoise.
Classification of Megalochelys atlas
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Reptiles
- Order: Testudines
- Suborder: Cryptodira
- Family: Testudinidae
- Genus: † Megalochelys
- Species: † M. atlas
Synonym:
- Colossochelys atlas
- Geochelone atlas
- Megalochelys sivalensis
- Testudo atlas
Reference:
- Hooijer, D.A. 1971. A Giant land tortoise, Geochelone atlas (Falconer & Cautley), from the Pleistocene of Timor II. Konikl. Nederl. Contract. van Wetens. Reprint from Proc. Series B 74, 518―525.
- Erick, Setiyabudi. 2009. An early Pleistocene giant tortoise (Reptilia; Testudines; Testudinidae) from the Bumiayu area, Central Java, Indonesia. Journal of Fossil Research, Vol. 42 (1): 1-11
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