Megalochelys
| Megalochelys Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| M. atlas skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
| Family: | Testudinidae |
| Genus: | †Megalochelys Falconer & Cautley, 1837 |
| Type species | |
| Megalochelys atlas (Falconer and Cautley, 1844) | |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Megalochelys ("great turtle") is an extinct genus of tortoises that lived from the Miocene to Pleistocene. They are noted for their giant size, the largest known for any tortoise, with a maximum carapace length of over 2 m (6.5 ft) in M. atlas. The genus ranged from western India and Pakistan to as far east as Sulawesi and Timor in Indonesia, though the island specimens likely represent distinct species.