MSGID: 1:317/3 64894275   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    First side-necked turtle ever discovered in UK    
      
     Date:   
         June 13, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Portsmouth   
     Summary:   
         The first side-necked turtle ever to be found in the UK has been   
         discovered by an amateur fossil collector and palaeontologists.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   The first side-necked turtle ever to be found in the UK has been   
   discovered by an amateur fossil collector and palaeontologists at the   
   University of Portsmouth.   
      
   The fossil remains are the earliest of a so-called side-necked   
   pan-pleurodiran turtle, named as such because they fold their neck into   
   their shell sideways when threatened. This does mean they can only see   
   out with one eye.   
      
   Originally found on a National Trust beach on the Isle of Wight, the   
   turtle fossil is an almost complete shell with cervical, dorsal and   
   caudal vertebrae, scapulae, pelvic girdle and appendicular bones. Sadly,   
   the skull was missing.   
      
   Lead author, Megan Jacobs, said: "This is an amazing discovery because   
   it's the first time this type of turtle has been found in the UK. Even   
   more exciting is that we used a new technique of radiometric dating to   
   determine the age of the fossil beyond any doubt. And to top it off, CT   
   scanning revealed all the tiny bones inside. It's really incredible for   
   what looks like a rolled beach pebble!"  Megan and colleagues dissected   
   minerals from inside the turtle shell and analysed them for uranium   
   and lead. By measuring the ratio of lead to radioactive uranium, they   
   established the turtle was from the Lower Cretaceous period, around 127   
   million years ago.   
      
   The fossil was originally found on the foreshore at Brook Bay on   
   the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight by fossil collector Steve   
   Burbridge. This part of the coast is well-known for fossil vertebrates   
   that come from the cliff and foreshore exposures of the upper part of   
   the famous Isle of Wight fossil beds of the Wessex Formation.   
      
   This is the first time that radiometric dating has been used on a fossil   
   from the Wessex formation.   
      
   Megan added: "We've nicknamed the turtle 'Burby' after Steve who very   
   kindly donated the specimen to the Dinosaur Isle Museum at Sandown on   
   the Isle of Wight."  The researchers also used cutting-edge micro CT   
   scanning at the University of Portsmouth's Future Technology Centre to   
   discern various tiny bones. This advanced imaging technique provided   
   invaluable insight into the structure and composition of the turtle's   
   shell, without damaging it.   
      
   Steve said: "It's beyond my wildest dreams to have one of my finds   
   published. I could never have guessed it was such an incredibly important   
   fossil. It's so wonderful to see all the tiny bones inside too."   
   Geologist, Dr Catherine Mottram, from the University of Portsmouth's   
   School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences is one of the   
   paper's co-authors.   
      
   She said: "It is exciting that we have been able to use cutting edge   
   radiometric dating techniques to provide absolute constraints for this   
   important sequence for the first time."  Other co-authors include Ada'n   
   Pe'rez-Garci'a and Marcos Marti'n-Jime'nez from UNED, Spain, Professor   
   David Martill, Andrew Gale and Charles Wood from the University of   
   Portsmouth, and Oliver Mattsson from Dinosaur Expeditions.   
      
   The paper is published in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Frogs_and_Reptiles # Evolutionary_Biology # New_Species   
                   # Animals   
             o Fossils_&_Ruins   
                   # Fossils # Paleontology # Early_Mammals # Dinosaurs   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Sea_turtle o Paralititan o Richard_Leakey o Homo_antecessor   
             o Feathered_dinosaurs o Homo_heidelbergensis o Fossil o   
             Petrified_wood   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Portsmouth. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Related Multimedia:   
       * Fossil_of_turtle   
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Megan L. Jacobs, Ada'n Pe'rez-Garci'a, Marcos Marti'n-Jime'nez,   
      Catherine   
         M. Mottram, David M. Martill, Andrew S. Gale, Oliver L. Mattsson,   
         Charles Wood. A well preserved pan-pleurodiran (Dortokidae) turtle   
         from the English Lower Cretaceous and the first radiometric date   
         for the Wessex Formation (Hauterivian-Barremian) of the Isle of   
         Wight, United Kingdom.   
      
         Cretaceous Research, 2023; 150: 105590 DOI:   
         10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105590   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230613190825.htm   
      
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