Turtle News

Turtle News

Fossil of Ancient Pregnant Turtle Discovered Features of the five crushed eggs discovered inside the fossil turtle's body cavity suggested the female turtle would have laid them in a matter of days. Credit: Darla Zelenitsky, University of Calgary. 2008.08.27 - Canada (Permalink) A turtle that toddled alongside the dinosaurs died just days before laying a clutch of eggs. Scientists from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Canada discovered the turtle in 1999 in a mud-filled channel in the badlands of southeastern Alberta. Then, in 2005, University of Calgary scientists found a nest of 26 eggs laid by another female of the same species in the same region. The pregnant turtle represents the first fossil turtle to be unearthed with eggs still inside the body cavity, the scientists say. more >> Recent News (Another) Two-headed loggerhead turtle named Hope and Faith The two-headed turtle was given two names: Hope and Faith (Charleston.net) 2008.08.24 (Permalink) A two-headed loggerhead turtle hatchling released to the ocean at Kiawah Island last week didn't leave without a twin name — "Hope and Faith." It was named by 9-year-old Grace McKeehan, who found it struggling futilely in the sand. Are two-headed turtles a sign of the Apocalypse? more >> Two-headed turtle discovered by Indiana eighth-graders Two-headed turtle discovered by eighth-graders (WNDU) 2008.08.22 (Permalink) See the article for a video. But that's not all that is strange about this turtle. It also has two tails and four front feet. Two eighth-graders at Queen of Peace School have been monitoring a turtle and her eggs all summer. Finally Thursday night some of the eggs hatched. That's when they discovered this odd turtle. One thing interesting about this type of conjoined turtle that may be beneficial for its survival is the 4 front feet. In a normal 2-headed turtle with two front feet, the turtle struggles to move anywhere. Since the two heads can't 'communicate' like humans can, it's had to coordinate walking when one brain controls the left side and one brain controls the right side. However, in this case, each brain controls 3 legs apiece. Eventually one of them will probably take physical dominance and be able to go essentially wherever it needs to in search of food, etc. more, including video >> Surgery saves sea turtle Tchompy, the lucky loggerhead. IBNlive 2008.03.13 Yaniv Levy of the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center said Tchompy is approximately 15-years-old, suffered severe injuries to his front fins after being entangled in a fishing net. The turtle underwent emergency surgery in Israel on February 22 to reconstruct one of his fins, but the other fin had to be amputated. Veterinary surgeons inserted a metal plate and screws into the turtle's fin so that it wouldn't have to be amputated. more >> Replica of Revolutionary Turtle successfully launched Roy Manstan, a retired submarine engineer and pilot of a replica of the 1775 Turtle submarine, climbs into the sub before it is launched. (BOB MACDONNELL, Hartford Courant) 2007.11.09 A replica of The Turtle (a Revolutionary War Submarine, the world's first submarine used in battle) was launched successfully this week. After 20 minutes of steering the ultra-tiny, one-man submarine through the Connecticut River, Navy-trained diver Roy Manstan said the vessel performed flawlessly. But Manstan doesn't recommend it for the claustrophobic. The Turtle, the handiwork of teacher Fred Frese and his technology education class at Old Saybrook High School, is a replica of the first military submarine. Built in 1775 in Connecticut, the original Turtle could be said to look like a 6-foot-high walnut, a misshapen beer barrel or perhaps a wooden turtle. more >> Sir Turtle logo moved on Cayman Airways planes A Cayman Airways plane returns from Costa Rica branded with Coat of Arms. (Cayman Net News) 2007.11.07 To recap, Cayman Airways has been going through a rebranding process recently. Much fuss was made by Cayman Islands residents when they announced they would be removing the Sir Turtle logo. They seem to have come up with a (IMO good) compromise with a redesign that still includes the Sir Turtle logo, positioned in a new location by the front door of the plane with the new (branding) logo on the tail. (Although a lot of the 'don't remove it' camp are still complaining.) more >> Man who tortured tortoise sentenced 2007.11.06 A judge on Monday sentenced Jose "Tony" Mosqueda to 270 days in jail and five years' probation for the mutilation and torture of a tortoise that belongs to a 7-year-old autistic boy. As part of the conditions of his probation, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark said Mosqueda may not have access to any animals, which means he will have to give up his pet iguana, dog and snake. more >> Rare white tortoise fished out of Lake Poyang This photo shows the white tortoise found in Lake Poyang. (Photo: jxnews.com.cn) 2007.11.02 This time it's China's turn to find an albino tortoise. A rare white tortoise was recently found in Lake Poyang in east China's Jiangxi province. Local newspaper Jiangnan City Daily reports the tortoise was purchased on Thursday by a wholesaler in Yugan county on the southeastern bank of the Poyang Lake, one of China's biggest fresh water lakes. An aquaculture expert says the cause for its abnormal color is complex, maybe from living in underwater caves without sunlight for too long or from genetic mutation. more>> Tortoise threatens man 2007.11.02 OK, I've heard about siccing your dogs on someone, feeding them to your pet shark / alligator / whatever, but sending in the tortoise is just going too far!! Another bizzare incident has occured on the Copperbelt in which a man has received a letter delivered by a tortoise threatening him for failing to settle a debt. In September, a Kitwe resident received letters from NAKONDE delivered by a tortoise and a dove asking him to pay K50 million he owed. This time the incident involves a Ndola resident, Mumena Mushinge, who allegedly owes a Tanzanian national, Sumba Wanga K26.9 million. The tortoise carrying the letter written in Swahili was found at Mr. Mushinge’s residence on President Avenue Thursday morning. The letter from a Mr. Jean Marie has given Mr. Mushinge three days to pay the money or face serious consequences, which include death. more >> America's latest controversy -- turtle fences Turtle fence along US 31. (Source: WoodTV) 2007.10.25 With American foreign policy in a shambles, our war spending beyond comprehension, this week our elected officials decided to argue about ... turtles. Michigan has started construction on a fence to keep turtles off of US Highway 31. Republican congressman Peter Hoekstra believes it's a waste of taxpayer money[1]. (Perhaps he believes the 300k could be better put to use in buying a bolt for a jet in Iraq. In the state vs federal power debate, I often favor state rights over federal. I love the following rebuttal. -- Tometheus (talk) 13:00, 28 October 2007 (CDT)) Your elected leaders in Lansing have not had the luxury you have had of repeatedly rubberstamping unbalanced federal budgets. In fact, the federal budgets of the past several years have grown at an average annual rate of more than seven percent since 2002, while Michigan's general fund spending was lower in 2007 than it was in 2002. With all due respect, I do not believe your state budget advice would advance our state budget or economic climates. -- Governor Granholm[2] Brian Dickerson points this out[3]: In reality, Hoekstra's alarm is about as genuine as Claude Rains' shock at discovering that gambling was going on in Humphrey Bogart's Casablanca café. As Michigan transportation officials pointed out in a more private exchange of letters with Hoekstra in 2005, federal restrictions he and his congressional colleagues approved require each state to spend a portion of its highway money on nonconstruction projects -- and specifically suggest wildlife preservation as an appropriate use of such funds. more >> < Archives | Turtle News

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