Turtles are fascinating creatures their shells are made up of over 50 bones. Over millions of years ancestors of turtles have evolved broader ribs which eventually turned into the shells we see on turtles today. Turtles are very unique most animals that do have shell like structures just have hardened scales on the outside of the body. Until recently there were missing links in a turtles family tree. In 2008 the Odontochelys Semitestacea was discovered. This creature roamed the earth around 220 million years ago. The recently discovered Eunotosaurus romed the earth 245 million years ago. Scientist have concluded that the turtles breathing system also evolved during this period. Eunotosaurus had a developed underbelly however the top vertebrae and ribs were in "mid" evolution still developing into the modern day shell.
NOS- Themes
- Science is not set in stone- New discoveries are always being made that can change previous theories.
- Science is based on evidence- the researchers and archeologist used these newly found fossils to come with new hypothesis on the evolution of turtles.
- Role of chance- their could be many more fossils waiting to be discovered to enhance the turtle family tree.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130530132431.htm
I loved the article! This is a great article for the evidence of evolution, and a great find for science. Where was this fossil found? I would be curious to find out more about the instinctive behavior where baby turtles walk towards light. Had that behavior developed yet for these ancient turtles? Another NOS theme is: role of motivation. These scientists were motivated to find proof for their theories as to how turtles evolved
ReplyDeleteThis was a great article that did a great job of explaining things in a way that was understandable. It was really nice. I found this article that goes into further detail about turtle evolution.
ReplyDeletehttp://dinosaurs.about.com/od/otherprehistoriclife/a/Prehistoric-Turtles-The-Story-Of-Turtle-Evolution.htm
I really enjoyed reading this article. Learning about the the evidence behind the evolution of the turtle was fascinating. More articles about the evolution of different species would be something that would interest me too. I found this video about the evolution of turtles.
ReplyDeletehttp://creation.com/evidence-for-turtle-evolution
I've always wondered how turtles got their shells. It's not like they just magically climbed under a rock and it turned into one. It makes sense how this would be able to happen though. It is quite obvious the organism with the best way to protect itself will survive and reproduce.
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