Fact Check: Is the prehistoric turtle octopus hybrid real? Viral claim debunked

Pictures of what appears to be a turtle-octopus hybrid are making the rounds on the internet, and people are asking if it exists. The image has gone viral online, with the allegation that this creature is real. It became popular after a Facebook post uploaded by The Somerset Insider in April claimed that the creature had been discovered in a place in Kentucky.

“A strange discovery was made in Lake Cumberland yesterday, sending shockwaves throughout the community,” the post read.

“A reptilian creature was pulled out of the lake by a local man who wishes to remain anonymous. The creature, which is estimated to weigh over 300 pounds, is believed to be a prehistoric hybrid of a turtle and an octopus. The beast was removed from the creek and taken to the Pulaski County Humane Society for further evaluation,” it added.

At the time of writing this article, the post had already received over 5.5K likes and over 600 comments. However, sources like Snopes claim that this image is fake and this creature does not exist.

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The prehistoric turtle-octopus hybrid is not real

This creature on the right is not real (Image via Getty Images / Facebook / The Somerset Insider)

Photographs of this prehistoric creature circulating online are inaccurate, and no such thing exists. The creature, seen in the video in a marshy setting with body parts resembling a turtle and an octopus, has been regularly re-posted with numerous backstories.

People are sharing the same picture on different social media platforms and with different backgrounds. In March 2023, a photo uploaded on Facebook claimed that the creature was found in Peru.

This post, too, claimed that the creature is real (Image via Facebook / Kai Matussek)

In April 2023, a Facebook post uploaded by The Somerset Insider claimed that the animal was discovered in Lake Cumberland, Kentucky. On the other hand, in May 2023, TikTok videos also asserted that the creature came from Santa Clara, Peru. The image, however, is not real.

View on TikTok

According to Smithsonian Magazine, the largest turtle ever recorded was Archelon, which lived 70 million years ago and grew to be around 15 feet long. This made it somewhat larger than the modern species.

Scientists described another turtle, which they named Leviathanochelys Aenigmatica, in an article published in Scientific Reports on November 17. The name "Leviathan" refers to the animal's vast body, while "chelys" means "turtle." The writers use the term "Aenigmatica" to allude to some of the creature's unusual traits.

Oscar CastilloVisa, a paleontologist at Spain's Autonomous University of Barcelona, told Reuters on November 18, 2022:

"Leviathanochelys was as long as a Mini Cooper, while Archelon was the same size as a Toyota Corolla."

According to Britannica, there are currently 356 species of turtles living on land in saltwater and freshwater on all continents except Antarctica, and the prehistoric turtle octopus hybrid is not one of them.

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This is not the first time a phony picture of a creature became viral

The Himalayan Monkey Flower and the Felis Salamandra cat might seem real but are not (Image via Twitter / @DrSYQuraishi / @UnionRebelMs)

In July 2023, an image of a flower called the Himalayan Monkey Flower began circulating online. The image became popular, with the claim that these bloom only once every 20 years. The photos depicted flowers shaped like cat faces. This claim of the rare flower was again deemed false, as it appeared to have been generated using Artificial Intelligence.

On the other hand, in May 2023, images of Felis Salamandra, a shiny black cat with uncommon yellow patches and yellow eyes, began circulating on the internet, baffling people. After some thought, researchers concluded that the photographs of the shiny black cats are phony and that there is no such thing as a Felis Salamandra cat.

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