In film and television blockbusters, the turtle is always magically incarnated as a "transportation artifact". I remember that in "Journey to the West", Tang monks and apprentices sat leisurely on the back of a turtle to cross the river, and once because of the "turtle" episode, they were wet by the river.
And in the classic animation "Dragon Ball", the turtle fairy stands on the back of the turtle in a chic manner, as if the whole world is under his feet. However, in reality, how have we ever seen such a mighty giant tortoise?
When we enter the temple of science, we will find that the "exclusive mount" of the turtle immortals is not groundless. Leatherback turtles, the largest turtle in the world, have a shell length of 1.5 meters and a width of 90 centimeters, which is more than enough for one person to stand on. It is even rumored that some leatherback turtles can be as long as 2.6 meters long and weigh more than 900 kilograms, which is really a giant! However, such a body shape is still beyond the power to carry Tang monks and apprentices.
If we want to find a giant tortoise that can really carry people, we may have to go back to the distant prehistoric era. Turtle, the name sounds awe-inspiring.
In the 70s of the 20th century, paleontologists accidentally discovered a huge fossilized turtle shell in Venezuela, which reached a staggering 2.35 meters in length. But, that's not the biggest. Scientists have found a fossilized turtle shell numbered UNEFM−CIAPP−2009, which is incomplete, but it is speculated that it may have been 3.3 meters long and 2.8 meters wide. If you add the head and tail, the body length may be close to 5 meters, and the weight is a staggering 6 tons, which is heavier than an elephant!
However, such a giant tortoise lived in South America between 5 million and 10 million years ago, which is far from the path of Tang monks and apprentices. And in this day and age, the Turtle is not invincible. The Pruus crocodile, the king of giant crocodiles in history, can reach a body length of 12.5 meters and weigh 8 tons, becoming a natural enemy of the turtle. Its super bite force makes the sturdy shell of the hacking turtle look fragile.
However, the mystery of the extinction of the turtle is not caused by a single natural enemy. Paleontologists speculate that the more likely cause is a geological disaster or climate change. The truth of this is still waiting for us to explore and uncover the dusty veil of history.