Researchers from the Azara Foundation, Conicet, and the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences have announced the discovery of a new species of aquatic turtle, Iaremys batrachomorpha, which lived approximately 70 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period.
The species was identified from a skull found near General Roca, Río Negro province. This remarkable find was made by Raúl Ortiz, a co-author of the study, and the specimen is currently housed at the Patagonian Museum of Natural Sciences.
The name batrachomorpha, meaning 'frog-like form', refers to the turtle's unusually flat skull, with eyes positioned upward and a rounded, wide snout. This small turtle had a shell that measured no more than 40 centimeters in length.
According to researchers, anatomical features suggest that Iaremys batrachomorpha was a predatory turtle, specialized in capturing small vertebrates through a suction mechanism, an uncommon feeding strategy among known fossil turtles.
This discovery is part of the 'End of the Age of Dinosaurs' project led by National Geographic, which aims to investigate and understand the biodiversity and ecological changes that occurred in the millions of years leading up to the mass extinction that marked the end of the Cretaceous.
The only known specimen of this species is a crucial piece for understanding the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems during that time in Patagonia, a region that continues to yield valuable paleontological finds.
Patagonia reaffirms its status as a key territory for global paleontology. This new discovery not only adds to the knowledge of fossil turtles in South America but also sheds light on the fauna that coexisted with dinosaurs in the final moments of their era.
The skull of Iaremys batrachomorpha, now safeguarded in General Roca, becomes a new emblem of the immense scientific value that the region holds for the study of prehistoric life.