Tennis Ball-Size Giant Turtle Egg Opened for the First Time to See the Rare Embryo Undisturbed for 90 Million Years

A new study titled "A Large and Unusually Thick-Shelled Turtle Egg With Embryonic Remains From the Upper Cretaceous of China," published in the journal proceedings of the Royal Society B, revealed that an egg fossil of a giant turtle from 90 million years ago was discovered by a Chinese farmer. It turns out to be a rare species inside the egg fossil.

Study co-author Darla Zelenitsky, an associate professor of paleontology from the University of Calgary, said that this is the first time that a fossilized turtle egg or nest could be attributed to a specific turtle.

Scientists said that it was the egg of the ancient giant turtle called Yuchelys nanyangensis, a land-dwelling creature that lived among dinosaurs in Asia and North America, related to the modern softshell turtles.

Rare Embryo of Turtle That Walked Among Dinosaurs

According to Live Science, the Chinese farmer found the egg in Henan province, which is known for the thousands of dinosaur eggs found in the last 30 years. Researchers noted that it is rare to find a fossilized egg of a turtle because they are so small and fragile.

Apparently, this was not the case with the egg of Y. nanyangensis because of its unique characteristics. The turtle egg measures 2.1 by 2.3 inches (5.4 by 5.9 centimeters) in size, which is only a bit smaller than a tennis ball but larger than the typical eggs of modern turtles.

Moreover, the egg is thicker than most turtle eggs as it has a thickness of 0.07 inches (1.8 millimeters), which is four times thicker than the eggs of a Galapagos tortoise and six times thicker than a chicken's eggshell.

Larger eggs found were also reportedly thicker, which is comparable to an ostrich egg's thickness of about 0.08-inch-thick (2 mm).

Researchers found that the egg was likely laid by a turtle with a carapace that measures 5.3 feet (1.6 meters), excluding the measurement for the turtle's neck and head. They believe that the turtle that laid these fossil eggs could be as tall as humans.

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Identifying the Eggs Helped Scientists Identify the Species

CBC News reported that the egg fossils found helped scientists identify the species that once owned the nests they found elsewhere. It also showed that the turtle laid 15 to 30 eggs at a time.

The farmer originally discovered the egg in 2018 and donated it to a museum. Lead author Yuzheng Ke of the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan contacted Zelenitsky to participate in the study because she had a study about dinosaur eggs and pregnant turtles before.

Other researchers who were not part of the study said that it is rare to find an egg fossil with an identifiable embryo, especially a turtle because they have thin eggshells composed of the unstable aragonite that is easily converted to another mineral during fossilization.

Paleontologist Jordan Mallon also agrees with the identification of the eggshells and said that these turtles were fully land-dwelling at that time, which has been debated for many years.

According to National Geographic, the study shows that there is more to learn about the evolution of turtles and their shells. However, there are far fewer people who study ancient turtles as they are more interested in dinosaurs.

The team hopes the discovery of fossilized embryos of turtles will inspire a new generation of scientists to untangle the mysteries of ancient turtles.