Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
SubOrder: Cryptodira
Family: Protostegidae
Genus: Archelon

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Archelon, the giant turtle was a well known name in the reptile family. It was seen floating in the ocean after is free will during the Cretaceous period, 75 millions years ago. It was a very slow mover and was seen drifting along the sea coast in search of food. The turtle grouped in the reptile family had an incredible size, 4.6 meters. Its beak was so strong that it could easily break the shell of an organism however strong it might be. The life span of the turtle was more than a century.

The first remains of such a giant sea turtle Archelon were discovered by D. Wieland in the year 1895 near South Dakota. It is assumed that the closest relative of this giant turtle that are carrying the flag of ancient dexterous courage is the Leatherback turtle. Most of the remains of the ancient giant turtle were found near South Dakota. It had again the very similar features of the ancient giant turtle Protostega Gigas but it is assumed after a thorough study that the Archelon was much larger in size that of it.

The physical features of the Archelon invoke awe and wonder. Though it was gigantic it did not possess a very hard shell. Instead it had a framework that was absolutely skeletal. It had a tail that aided it in swimming along with the flippers. The Archelons bite was so hard that it could smash any hard thing to dust within a second. It was assumed that the favorite marine species after its choice was the squid.

The giant turtle Archelon did not stay under water for a long time. They dived in the deep water when they used to go on hibernation on the sea bed. The omnivorous turtle preferred all kinds of dead animals; probably it was the best scavenger during the old period. It had the ability to attack the fish that swam along it in a quick speed. The jellyfish and the sea plants were its favorite kills too. In a word such a peculiar hunting spree made it so desperate that even it used to swim along the sea coast in search of food defying the attack of the killer sharks.

With the aid of the long flippers the Archelon could float and swim on the sea after its own sweet will. I had the power to swim long distances with the help of the flippers. It always roamed in the sea escorted by a large number of other fish that preferred to swim along with it. The Archelon was gigantic but it did not know how to combat well, how to defend itself in the face of an open attack. It never used to draw its head back or the helpful flippers within its shell. It moved in a flamboyant style without caring the sudden attack of the larger predators like the sharks.

The Archelon had the same habit like its modern counterpart as it floated to lay eggs on the nearest beach. It had the same habit of burying eggs under the sand to keep them safe. Perhaps it might have assumed that the eggs would remain safe under the darkness of the ground.