In the Northern Pyrenees of Spain, researchers have discovered the pelvic bones and shell fragments of a giant creature, these are the remains of a ѕрeсіeѕ of giant sea turtle. The prehistoric creature weighed about 2 tons and was 12 feet long, making it the largest creature ever found in Europe.

The largest living tortoises today ( leather turtles ) can grow to be 4 to 6 feet long, while the newly discovered ancient tortoises are about 12 feet long. Pictured is a leather tortoise. (Image: Shutterstock)

James Ashworth of the Natural History Museum in London writes: The discovery was purely coincidental. A hiker accidentally found some bone fragments while hiking in the Pyrenees. A local museum and the Catalan Ministry of Culture have since collected the creature’s remains, but they were not studied until 2021. Researchers have begun new exсаⱱаtіoпѕ at the Pyrenees and Fragments of the turtle’s pelvis and shell were found.

In a paper published November 17 in the journal Scientific Reports, the scientists named the turtle Leviathanochelys aenigmatica. “Leviathan” means large animal, and “chelys” means turtle, and “Aenigmatica” means mуѕteгіoᴜѕ – referring to the creature’s ѕtгапɡe features.