Archelon was a big, beautiful
turtle. A
sea turtle, a turtle of the
sea, from many millions of years ago, towards the tail end of the time when
dinosaurs (of which Archelon was pointedly
not one) roamed the Earth.
In size, Archelon has often aptly been compared to an
automobile. And not a small car either, not one of those minis tooling around the roads of
Europe, but a good-sized vehicle, perhaps an unusually wide and round
station wagon comfortably carting around a family of five, and their
dog. Archelon was in fact wider than he was long, up to thirteen feet from nose to tail, but having up to a sixteen foot
wingspan. In visage, Archelon most closely resembled the
leatherback turtle of today, with its rock-hard skin and vaulted rows of bones down the back substituting for a proper fully-plated turtle shell.
And how
wing-like those
flippers were!! All indications are that Archelon was a very happy species of prehistoric turtle, which was able despite its vast size to do freewheeling
cartwheels in the deep open waters of Earth's ancient oceans. If you were to come upon Archelon you would likely wish to feed it a
snack and pet it. And you probably need not fear that Archelon would eat you for a snack. For though Archelon was
omnivorous, its animal prey tended to be on the small side, only what it could snap up in one bite. But, in that vein of thought, Archelon might eat a
baby. Naturally, you would wish to ride on Archelon's back like a prince or princess of the sea (along with your family of five and your dog, all of whom would fit comfortably there, though you must keep a careful eye on the baby). Such is the
charm and
personality of Archelon.
Archelon!! O, Archelon!!
Wherefore art thou, O Archelon?
Thy kingdom come, thy shell shine on
In the
Cretaceous, as in the
Triassic.
Further reading:
The BBC info page on Archelon