Twinning Sea Turtles: Conservation Workers Discover a Rare Occurrence, a Pair Sharing the Same Egg, After Nest Excavation

Conservation workers recently discovered two turtles sharing the same egg. This discovery came following an excavation of nests done by the Juara Turtle Project in Tioman, Malaysia.

According to an IFL Science report, the unusual discovery was revealed on social media a week ago. It also reported that twinning in sea turtles is an unusual occurrence and one whose triggers and survival insinuations are not entirely understood.

The hatchlings in this occurrence have never made it out of the egg; their presence is pushing for an interesting academic result.

The twins found were green turtles, also known as Chelonia mydas, just one of the many species tripping it back to Juara on Tioman Island in Malaysia to lay eggs on the sandy beach.

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Protection of Egg Clutches

Turtles inhabitants are afforded a head start in life because of JTP to support the worldwide turtle populace by protecting egg clutches, investigating hatchlings, and expediting their release.

JTP works with egg collectors, as well. It also pays them a fair wage to back the project as a sustainable substitute to poaching, benefiting the local neighborhood and, at the same time, the animals.

During the recent digging, the research group encountered a set of twins that shared an egg, which the JTP said, is infrequent although it has been reported throughout the world.

According to JTP, there are two general differences in sea turtle twinning occurrences. The hatchlings, it added, could either be completely separated twins or conjoined pairs.

Sharing One Yolk Sac

This latest find at JTP was a case of completely separated green turtle twins of the same size, sharing one yolk sac.

Out of more than 100 eggs relocated into our hatchery, the turtle twins were among the five unhatched eggs. An earlier report on unhatched turtle eggs came out in Republicworld.com.

Regrettably, in this case, the hatchling twins had not survived, which may have been because of two turtles that competed for resources inside the egg.

Having found that, the twins were able to make it to the later phase of development, and a pair of turtles appearing alive from one egg is not known and unheard of, with some, which have even survived as conjoined twins.

This project has found through the years that one would never know who's going to appear from or what will be found inside a turtle age.

'Leucism' and 'Albinism' Recorded

The discoverers said JTP had recorded various cases of "leucism and albinism" in hatchlings through the years, both of which involve genetic factors playing a vital role leading to pigmentation anomalies. Albinism is generally described on the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center site.

Furthermore, they said they had a case of conjoined twins where hatchlings with a pair of two heads shared one body with one pair of front and hind flippers.

Turtles worldwide are presently under threat from illegal trade, loss of nesting grounds, fishery bycatch, and climate change, among others, although many things can be done to help.

Many projects, including JTP, take on volunteers, and everyone is encouraged that they can support the project even remotely through sponsorship of nesting or offering donations.

Essentially, making minor, sustainable changes to plastic consumption and behavior as a visitor can make a big difference, keeping the turtle's environment free from trash and respecting their spaces by avoiding touching any turtle seen in the wild.

Related information about sea turtle eggs is shown on Reproduction Live TV's YouTube video below: