Introducing Peltocephalus‍ maturin, an extinct giant turtle named after Maturin, a turtle‌ character created by author Stephen King.

The turtle is estimated to⁢ be ⁢between 40,000 and 9,000 years old (at the end ‍of‍ the Pleistocene period) and was found in the Brazilian Amazon. ​Maturin’s shell length is believed to have been‌ nearly 6 feet in carapace length, or about 180 cm, making it one of the largest ‍freshwater turtles to have roamed the ⁢earth.

“We named ‍the new species ‍after the giant turtle ‘Maturin’, ⁣a central character in the Stephen King multiverse. Maturin is responsible ⁣for the ⁣creation ⁤of ⁢the universe in King’s novels and films,” ‌said Dr. Gabriel S. Ferreira of the Senckenberg Center ‌for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen in a press release from‍ the university. “Such large animals are most recently​ known primarily from the Miocene, the period around⁢ 23 ‍to 5 million years ago.”

The ‌remains of the fossil, which included‌ a portion of its​ lower ​jaw, were discovered by gold ‍miners at the “Taquaras” quarry in Porto Velho, Brazil. The scientists ⁣believe ⁢that Peltocephalus maturin is related to the modern-day⁤ big-headed Amazon turtle (Peltocephalus dumerilianus). However, Maturin is four times the size of its modern-day relative. The scientists also believe that the turtle was an omnivore and coexisted with early humans in the Amazon‌ region around 12,600 years ago.

The full‍ paper, “The latest freshwater giants: a⁣ new Peltocephalus (Pleurodira: Podocnemididae) turtle ​from the Late Pleistocene of the Brazilian‌ Amazon,”⁤ can be read on the Biology Letters website.