The fossil of a two-foot long turtle, which belonged to the Cretaceous Period and lived 76 million years ago was unearthed in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. In the 250 million years of history of the evolution of turtles, no species similar to this has yet been found.  Yahoo News reports that this finding by a team from the Natural History Museum of Utah is characterised by a nose akin to a pig's snout with two nostrils and can, indeed, be classified as unique. 

Where most discovered turtle fossils tend to only have a detached skull or a shell, the pig-snouted turtle fossil has both shell and skull as well as an almost intact forelimb, part of the hindlimb and the bones from neck to tail, according to Tech Times.  Furthermore, while most turtles have only one nasal opening that is separated externally by flesh, this pig-snouted turtle has two bony orifices.  The Arvinachelys goldeni, as the turtle is scientifically called, has a shell that allows for living in rivers and riverbank areas. This shows consistency with the southern Utah of 76 million years ago, which was hot and wet in climate and abundant with bayous, lowland flood areas, and rivers in terrain.

The study, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, by researchers from the University of Texas of this extinct species has helped further understanding of turtle evolution. Research team member Joshua Lively relates that this finding provides significant perspective into the characteristic and development of the ecosystem throughout western North America.  

During the existence of these turtles, which are classified under the baenids or of the extinct cryptodiran turtles, western North America was part of a large continent called Laramidia.  This western region was separated from the east by a sea that runs from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico. Though no reason is determined for the isolation between these two regions, dinosaurs in Laramidia's southern region varied in remoteness from those in the northern region.  The same model of seclusion is observed in the pig-snouted turtles and other turtle species.