Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 7, 2019

'Oldest' Case of Bone Cancer Is Diagnosed in a 240-Million-Year-Old Shell-Less Turtle

Hundreds of millions of years ago, a shell-less turtle developed a malady in its bones. Now, 240 million years later, the Triassic period turtle is finally receiving a diagnosis: bone cancer. This is likely the oldest case of bone cancer ever found among reptiles, birds and mammals, according to the...

Apr 15, 2019

World's Rarest Giant Turtle Loses Last Known Female, All But Guaranteeing Extinction

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) is considered the most critically endangered turtle in the world, with only four known individuals left on Earth. On Saturday (April 13), that population fell to three, as the species' last known female died in a zoo in Suzhou, China, according to the...

Oct 4, 2019

Depressing Image Shows Dead Baby Sea Turtle Found with 104 Pieces of Plastic in Its Belly

A photo of a baby loggerhead sea turtle that died after eating 104 pieces of plastic went viral on Facebook this week. The photo was posted by the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Florida, on Tuesday (Oct. 1) and shows the lifeless turtle, no bigger than the palm...

Jan 28, 2020

Green turtle rescued from fishing net poops out all kinds of human trash

The phrase what goes in … must come out took on a literal meaning for a green turtle that had gobbled up human trash, only to poop it out later with help from a veterinarian. The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) was initially found tangled in the net of Roberto Ubieta,...

Feb 13, 2020

This may be the biggest turtle that ever lived

An 8-million-year-old turtle shell unearthed in Venezuela measures nearly 8 feet (2.4 meters) long, making it the largest complete turtle shell known to science, a new study reported. This shell belonged to an extinct beast called Stupendemys geographicus, which lived in northern South America during the Miocene epoch, which lasted...

Apr 21, 2020

Baby leatherback sea turtles thriving due to COVID-19 beach restrictions

Baby leatherback sea turtles are doing better than they have in years, now that many humans are opting (or being ordered) to stay off beaches due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On one beach in Thailand, for instance, environmentalists have found 11 leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) nests since November, the...

Jan 5, 2021

Discovery of endangered female turtle provides hope for extremely rare species

The world's most endangered turtle species may now have a fighting chance, after a 3-foot-long (1 meter) female — a potential mate for the lone known male of the species — was discovered in Vietnam. Researchers from the Asian Turtle Program (ATP) of Indo-Myanmar Conservation (IMC) and the Wildlife Conservation...

Feb 20, 2021

Why thousands of turtles were paralyzed off the coast of Texas this week

This week, thousands of sea turtles were paralyzed in the frigid waters along the Texas coastline during the unprecedented winter storm that swept across the country. In response, a small army of volunteers, many of them without power and running water, sprang into action to rescue these endangered creatures. So...

Feb 24, 2021

Why rescuers are feeding turtles mayonnaise after a disastrous oil spill

While some people slather mayonnaise on their sandwiches, Israel's National Sea Turtle Rescue Center uses the condiment for a unique purpose: to treat endangered turtles after oil spills, The Associated Press (AP) reported. More than 100 miles (160 kilometers) of Israel's Meditteranean coastline became blotted with huge globs of tar...

Apr 8, 2021

Turtles complete seemingly impossible journey thanks to a hidden 'corridor' through the Pacific

North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) hatch on the shores of Japan and spend much of their time in the open Pacific, but sometimes mysteriously crop up in Mexico, 9,000 miles (14,500 kilometers) away from their original nesting ground. That incredible journey requires them to pass through potentially deadly,...

May 4, 2021

Young green turtles tracked to 'lost years' hideaway

Editor's note: This story was updated on May 6 to include comments from Dan Crear. The original story was published on May 4. Green sea turtles venture into the open ocean immediately after hatching on the Florida coast, and then seem to vanish for a spell — now, new tracking...

May 5, 2021

Ancient turtle with a frog face sucked down its prey millions of years ago

Paleontologists in Madagascar recently discovered an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a new and extinct species of turtle, dating back to the late Cretaceous Period, which began around 100 million years ago. The newly discovered species would have had a frog-like face and eaten by sucking in mouthfuls of prey-filled water....

Aug 15, 2021

Why do turtles live so long?

On the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, there lives a creature that Guinness World Records has dubbed the world's oldest animal on land. His name is Jonathan, and he's a giant tortoise. According to Guinness World Records, Jonathan was 187 years old in 2019. Born in 1832,...

Oct 12, 2021

Infamous 'Lizard King' of Florida nabbed in turtle heist

A Florida reptile dealer known as The Lizard King faces federal charges for illegally harvesting turtles from the wild to smuggle out of the United States and sell overseas. The 54-year-old Michael Van Nostrand owns the reptile wholesale store Strictly Reptiles, Inc. in Hollywood, Florida. The business sells a variety...

Oct 13, 2021

Rare conjoined turtles hatched in Massachusetts

Conjoined turtles with two heads and a single body have hatched at a Massachusetts wildlife center. Against all odds, the fused siblings are thriving. The baby turtles, diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin), are very alert and active, according to a recent Facebook post from the New England Wildlife Center's Cape Cod...