Bangkok - Two 150-million-year-old turtle fossils recently found in north-east Thailand have been classified as a new Jurassic-era species, clinching the kingdom's claim to land-turtle ancestry in South-East Asia, media reports said Tuesday.
The two fossils, believed to date back to the Jurassic era more than 150 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth, were found in 2005 by the government's Mineral Resource Department in Mukdahan province, 450 kilometres north-east of Bangkok.
The official discovery of the new species was published in the London-based Geological Society journal earlier this year under the name Basilochelyes macro bios, the Bangkok Post newspaper reported.
The Greek name translates as "Long Live the King," and was chosen to honour Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who will turn 82 on December 5, 2009.
The world's oldest turtle fossil, the 200-million-year-old Progonochelyes, was found in nearby Khon Kaen province. - Sapa-dpa