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How the turtle got its shell

By Guest PostMay 31, 2013Nature, Scienceallison y hsiang, armadillos, China, eunotosaurus, eunotosaurus fossils, evolutionary origin, evolutionary pathway, fossil record, fossil reptile, gabe s bever, histological analysis, history of life, how, jacques a gauthier, modern turtle model, modern turtles, molecular divergence, most living turtles, placodonts, secret of shell, shell, smithsonian institution, South Africa, torsten m scheyer, turtle, turtle shell, tyler lyson, universitaet zuerich, various lizards, vertebrae, yale peabody museum, yale university

The turtle has been in no rush to give up the secret of its shell — but after two centuries of close study, scientists are filling in the story of a structure unique in the history of life.

New research led by Tyler Lyson of Yale University and the Smithsonian Institution pushes back the origins of the turtle shell by about 40 million years, linking it to Eunotosaurus, a 260-million-year-old fossil reptile from South Africa. The work strengthens the fossil record and bolsters an existing theory about shell development while providing new details about its precise evolutionary pathway. (more…)

Archaeologists Find New Evidence of Animals Being Introduced to Prehistoric Caribbean

By Guest PostDecember 13, 2011Scienceagoutis, animal remains, armadillos, arrival of columbus, caribbean, caribbean islands, carriacou, charcoal, daily consumption, guinea pigs, michelle lefebvre, north carolina state university, opossum, pig like peccaries, pre columbian caribbean, prehistoric non native animal, prehistoric villages, rodents, scott fitzpatrick, south america, tiny island, university of florida, university of washington

An archaeological research team from North Carolina State University, the University of Washington and University of Florida has found one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric non-native animal remains in the Caribbean, on the tiny island of Carriacou. The find contributes to our understanding of culture in the region before the arrival of Columbus, and suggests Carriacou may have been more important than previously thought.

The researchers found evidence of five species that were introduced to Carriacou from South America between 1,000 and 1,400 years ago. Only one of these species, the opossum, can still be found on the island. The other species were pig-like peccaries, armadillos, guinea pigs and small rodents called agoutis. (more…)

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How the turtle got its shell

Archaeologists Find New Evidence of Animals Being Introduced to Prehistoric Caribbean