Fossils of car-sized dinosaur-era sea turtle unearthed in Spain

An illustrated reconstruction of the large Cretaceous Period sea turtle Leviathanochelys aenigmatica, which lived about 83 million years ago and whose fossils were found in Catalonia's Alt Urgell county in northeastern Spain, is seen in this undated handout image. ICRA_Arts/Museu de la Conca Della - Institut Catala de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont/Handout via REUTERS

Plying the subtropical seas that washed the coasts of the archipelago that made up Europe 83 million years ago was one of the largest turtles on record, a reptile the size of a small car - a Mini Cooper to be precise - that braved dangerous waters.

Researchers on Thursday described remains discovered in northeastern Spain of a turtle named Leviathanochelys aenigmatica that was about 12 feet (3.7 meters) long, weighed a bit under two tons and lived during the Cretaceous Period - the final chapter in the age of dinosaurs. It is Europe's biggest-known turtle.