Fossils of Side-Necked Turtle Discovered for the First Time in UK

An amateur fossil collector discovered the remains of a side-necked turtle from nearly 30 million years ago. The discovery was significant as it was the first time the fossils of this type of turtle were found in the United Kingdom.

Side-Necked Turtle Fossils Discovered in the UK

The fossilized bones are the earliest examples of a pan-pleurodiran turtle, a side-necked turtle. It was named as such because, when attacked, it would curl its neck sideways into its shell. Due to this, side-necked turtles can only see out with one.

The fossilized turtle shell comprises cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, scapulae, pelvic girdle, and appendicular bones. It was first discovered on a National Trust beach on the Isle of Wight. Unfortunately, the skull was gone, ScienceDaily reported.

It is an important discovery because it's the first time this kind of turtle has been discovered in the UK, according to lead author Megan Jacobs. They gave the turtle the moniker "Burby," after Steve, the fossil collector who discovered it and donated the specimen to the Dinosaur Isle Museum at Sandown on the Isle of Wight.

Even more thrilling is that they used a novel radiometric dating method to establish the fossil's age unequivocally. Megan and her colleagues dissected turtle shell minerals and tested them for lead and uranium. They determined the turtle was from the Lower Cretaceous period, some 127 million years ago, by calculating the charge to radioactive uranium ratio.

It is the first fossil from the Wessex formation to have been radiometrically dated. The researchers also identified several microscopic bones using advanced micro CT scanning at the Future Technology Centre at the University of Portsmouth.

The cutting-edge imaging approach gave researchers crucial information about the composition and structure of the shell without harming it.

Steve said that having one of his discoveries published was beyond his wildest aspirations. He admitted that he never would have known it was such a significant fossil. He added that seeing all the small bones within was amazing.

Dr. Catherine Mottram, a geologist from the University of Portsmouth's School of the Environment, Geography, and Geosciences, and one of the authors said that it was thrilling because, for the first time, they were able to provide absolute bounds for such significant sequence using cutting-edge radiometric dating techniques.

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What Are Side-Necked Turtles?

Any species of turtle from the families Chelidae, Pelomedusidae, and Podocnemididae is referred to as a side-necked turtle, according to Britannica. The animal's protective stance is where the common name comes from.

This group of turtles lays the head and neck to the side, beneath the shell edges, instead of withdrawing them into the shell for protection. Other distinguishing features of pleurodires include the fusing of the pelvic girdle to the plastron and the presence of a mesoplastron, a piece of bone set into the plastron, or the bottom shell, in most forms.

The earliest Pleurodire turtles, which date back around 220 million years, emerged in the late Triassic Period.

In the Southern Hemisphere now, Sidenecks can be found in Southern Hemisphere in Africa, Madagascar, Australia, and South America. They are also present in a few islands in the Indian Ocean.

According to Rainforest Expeditions, side-necked turtles could weigh up to 4.5 kilograms and lay 20 to 35 eggs. They could live up to 90 years.