Softly, softly roamed the Frisbee turtle

♦ A giant “Frisbee” turtle that roamed the Earth 228million years ago had no shell, scientists have found.

The newly named species, Eorhynchochelys sinensis, had evolved a toothless beak but not the other turtle hallmark, a protective shell.

Palaeontologist Dr Olivier Rieppel, from the Field Museum in Chicago, said: “This creature was over six feet long, it had a strange disc-like body and a long tail. It probably lived in shallow water and dug in the mud for food.”

A complete fossilised skeleton of E. sinensis was found embedded in rocks in Guizhou Province, China.

The creature is described in the latest issue of the journal Nature. British co-author Dr Nick Fraser, from National Museums Scotland, said: “This exciting discovery gives us another piece in the puzzle of turtle evolution.”