1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam Here. Some of our favorite 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: animals used to be bigger. The giant beaver of the 4 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,279 Speaker 1: Pleistocene was the size of a black bear, and the 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,240 Speaker 1: Titana boa was a snake longer than a school bus 6 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: and as big around as a tractor tire. There were 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: hippo sized wombats, humongous sea scorpions, and birds of prey 8 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: the size of small jets. We still have some giants today, 9 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,840 Speaker 1: like the blue whale, but the largest organism currently living 10 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: on earth is a fungus that stretches some two point 11 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: four miles that's three point eight kilometers underground in Oregon. 12 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: But new research published in February in the journal Scientific 13 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: Advances beefs up our picture a stupendamous geographicus, a giant 14 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: freshwater turtle the size of a sensible four door sedan, 15 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: which lived in the coastal wetlands of South America between 16 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: five and ten million years ago before the Amazon River 17 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,160 Speaker 1: was formed. The study found that the turtle was one 18 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: hundred times heavier than its closest modern relative and had 19 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,039 Speaker 1: the largest carapace or shell of any turtle ever known. 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: This whopping two thousand, five hundred pound goliath that's one thousand, 21 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty kilos was also ready for battle. 22 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,919 Speaker 1: Some carapaces were tricked out with front facing horns sitting 23 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: on both sides of their head, something scientists haven't seen 24 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: before in prehistoric turtles. Marcello Sanchez, director of the Paleontological 25 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: Institute and Museum at the University of Zurich, said in 26 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: a press release. The two shell types indicate that two 27 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,960 Speaker 1: sexes of Stupendibus existed, males with horns shells and females 28 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: with hornless shells. Their shells were also covered in big 29 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: scars and puncture marks, suggesting a few things about Stupendibus. 30 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: These big brutes were fighters. The males and females did 31 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: look different, and the males might have even fought each 32 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: other for access to the females. The horns could also 33 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: have come in handy in fighting off another unspeakably hefty 34 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: freshwater animal, the purse sourus, which was a cayman, a 35 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: group of reptiles related to alligators that weighed nine point 36 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 1: three tons and required ninety pounds or forty kilos of food. Today, 37 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,519 Speaker 1: just to get by all those dependumous geographicus was first 38 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: described in the mid nineteen seventies. The current study has 39 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: revised what we know about the size, anatomy, distribution, and 40 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: ecology of this turtle beast. Because the vast wetlands of 41 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: prehistoric Venezuela and Colombia could support such a heavy duty 42 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: team of reptiles, Stupendamous and Parasaurus probably duked it out 43 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: until their ecosystem could no longer support either. Let this 44 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: be a lesson to us all. Today's episode was written 45 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: by Jocelyn Shields and produced by Tyler Clang. For more 46 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: on this and lots of other really big topics, visit 47 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of 48 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio. For more podcasts to my heart Radio, visit 49 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 50 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.