My Last Archelon Post :(

          While creating this blog I learned a lot about Archelon. In two weeks I went from not knowing it existed to learning its habitat, diet, size, and more. But there's is even more I am going to try to fit in into my last post. Archelon was the largest turtle thats ever been documented. They lived to be over a century old. It was a very slow turtle, but its long flippers help him float in the water. Archelon buried it eggs on the beach under the sand to keep them safe. In size, they are compared to a Honda Civic with a shell on top. The original fossil of Archelon can be found at the Nation Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria. This fossils was found in the 1970's. They dug it out of Pierre Shale, near Rapid City, South Dakota. Theories say it probably died while in hibernation, and sunk into the mud. It is unknown how it died. Quote from another blogger: 

"How did the Archelon become extinct? If I knew, I would be the most famous Paleontologist in the world."

          Going over what we learned... Archelon is 16 ft by 13ft long. He lived near present day South Dakota, back in the Crustaceous period. It eats mostly squid and lives alone until it mates. He is 4900 pounds, and Archelon is a cold-blooded animal. Also, models of Archelon have been in a couple movies.

Bye!

          

References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/seamonsters/factfiles/archelon.shtml (photo)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archelon
http://www.dinosaurfact.net/Marine/Archelon.php
http://www.theboredninja.com/fun_facts/archelon-the-2-ton-turtle/
http://www.bhigr.com/pages/info/info_arch.htm
http://redseaturtles.blogspot.com/2010/10/archelon-ischyros-who-was-he.html

Habitat Sweet Habitat!

Every animal has a habitat, it is the home or environment of a plant, animal or other organism. Archelon lived near present day South Dakota. However, that was nearly 70 million years ago, so conditions and the environment were much different. They live in seas which are now covered by land. In the crustaceous period South Dakota there were open flood plains, the climate was warmer and more moist, than it currently is in South Dakota.

Archelon is a cold-blooded animal... What does that mean?

A cold-blooded animal is an animal that is the temperature of their surroundings. 98.6 degrees is the normal temperature for humans. We are warm-blooded so we stay close to that same temperature. However, a cold-blooded animals temperature vary's depending on the environment. If their surroundings are cold, they become cold inside.

Archelon usually swims and live alone, until they mate.

Resources I used are: 

http://www3.northern.edu/natsource/EARTH/Dinosa1.htm

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_type_of_environment_did_the_archelon_live_in

http://forum.primalcarnage.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3074&start=530 (photo)

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/ir_zoo/coldwarm.html

http://www.uhaul.com/supergraphics/states/south_dakota/turtle/archelon.html

Yum, yum!

There are three major types of diets that animals have. Animals that eat meat and other animals are called carnivores. But animals that only eat plants and vegetables are called herbivores. An animal that will eat plants, and meat are called omnivores. There are many other minor food diets such as insectivores. Archelon is a omnivore. It ate squid, jellyfish, and other sea animals. It is unknown how much they ate, but they were large animals and would have needed to eat a lot. They found their food by swimming out and hiding near the surface of the ocean. If he found something good he would hunt after it. Its beak was very powerful so it could break the shells of other animals. Archelon could pretty much anything. Resources I used for this post are: http://www.uhaul.com/supergraphics/states/south_dakota/turtle/interview.html http://www.kidsdinos.com/dinosaurs-for-children.php?dinosaur=Archelon http://students.cis.uab.edu/cassieh/ProjectArchelonPart.html
All the above are great resources if you have any questions!

Getting to know Archelon :)

Archelon is like the Leatherback Sea-turtle. It has a pointed tail, and a narrow skull. The "shell" is vaulted (higher in the center). It is made out of a leathery type material, and is supported by and bony structure. It's estimated weight is 2200 kg (4900 pounds). The fist specimen of Archelon was found in South Dakota. Most of its fossils were found in South Dakota and Wyoming. It lived around 75-65 million years ago. Archelon appeared in the remake of One Million Years B.C.

(Photo from Wikipedia, Archelon page.) I used Wikipedia, as a resource for this post. See you next post!

Bonjour, مرحبا, ¡Hola, ahoj, so on.... Hello!

Hi readers, for the next couple weeks I will be posting about an extinct sea turtle called Archelon. My time will be spent researching about this pre-historic animal. Then summarizing what I learned in a post. This magnificent creature is 16 feet wide from flipper to flipper. He is also 13 feet long.

(This photo from the wikipedia, Archelon page.)

I hope you learn a lot and enjoy.