Scientists: the first turtle laid stone eggs
Paleontologists believe this is an evolutionary oddity.
Modern sea turtles lay eggs with soft leathery shell. But the egg shells of the prehistoric sea turtle was mineralized, according to a new study published in Science.
Modern technologies have allowed scientists to better investigate the discovery, made about 10 years ago. We are talking about fossilized remains of extinct marine turtles from Colombia belonging to the species of Desmatochelys padillai. Them about 120 million years.
This is the first known sea turtle—and it laid hard eggs https://t.co/3jKnDMu2lQ pic.twitter.com/Y4BBgM9Qzw
— Ciencia y Astropartículas (@itorres2003) 19 Dec 2018
Computed tomography of a new specimen identified more than four dozen almost spherical eggs with a diameter of 32 to 43 mm. Other tests, including the analysis of mineral structures under the microscope, confirmed that the eggs were hard shell.
Membrane that is lined with eggshell in the lives of ancient turtles, were much thinner shells themselves. This is similar to the proportions observed in the eggs of turtles with hard shells of modern freshwater or terrestrial species, but it is not similar to the proportions seen in modern marine turtles.