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Scientists find new clues in turtle evolution
A 260-million-year-old fossil species found in South Africa\'s Karoo basin has shed new light on the murky origins of turtles. The extinct reptile, named \"Eunotosaurus africanus\", is being touted by researchers as the earliest known branch of the turtle tree of life.
New York: A 260-million-year-old fossil species found in South Africa's Karoo basin has shed new light on the murky origins of turtles. The extinct reptile, named "Eunotosaurus africanus", is being touted by researchers as the earliest known branch of the turtle tree of life.
"Eunotosaurus is a critical link connecting modern turtles to their evolutionary past," said lead researcher Gaberiel Bever from New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). "This is the fossil for which science has been searching for more than 150 years. You can think of it as a turtle, before turtles had a shell," Bever said.
While Eunotosaurus lacks the iconic turtle shell, its extremely wide ribs and distinctively circular torso are the first indications that this fossil represents an important clue in a long unsolved mystery - the origin of turtles.
