The reptile was given its common name because of its powerful jaws and distinct ridges on its shell that are similar in appearance of an alligator.

For some people, pictures and videos of this incredible creature may look like something right out of a sci-fi or horror film. But for wildlife conservationists, it means a whole new level of excitement.

Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has captured an enormous turtle that happens to be the largest ever for its species.

The group captured a Suwannee alligator snapping that weighs more than 100 pounds. Pictures and videos of the massive reptile have now gone viral and stunned netizens around the world.

According to reports, the monster Suwannee turtle was found along with a 46-pound female and another 64-pound male in a hoop net trap in the New River, north of Gainesville, said reports.

Once the biologists took photographs and recorded the vital stats of the reptiles, they were released back into the river.

FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute took to Facebook to share the pictures.

Take a look:

“This week our biologists were out checking traps set for the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys suwanniensis. This is a new species that FWC helped describe in 2014,” the group wrote on Facebook.

A video shows the biologists releasing the 100-pound turtle back into the river after recording its vital stats.

The catch was part of a collaboration between FWC and other researchers in Florida and Georgia to study and document the distribution and population size of Suwannee alligator snapping turtles.

“Six 4-foot diameter hoop net traps were set in the New River, north of Gainesville. In one trap, they caught a 100-pound male and a 46-pound female, another trap had a 64-pound male. The New River is a blackwater stream with low biological productivity, so finding a large turtle in such a small stream is unusual,” FWC wrote.

Before the current discovery, it was widely believed that there were only one living species of alligator snapping turtle. The current one has been recognised as Macrochelys suwanniensis.

Alligator snapping turtles are primarily found in the southeastern waters of the United States. The reptile was given its common name because of its powerful jaws and distinct ridges on its shell that are similar in appearance of an alligator.

It’s also dubbed ‘the dinosaur of the turtle world’ because of its beaklike jaw, spiked shell, and thick tail.

The average life span of these turtles is 70. But some alligator snapping turtles have been reported to be living for 100 years.