Turtles and dinosaurs: Scientists solve reptile mysteries with landmark study on the evolution of turtles

Date:

November 24, 2014

Source:

California Academy of Sciences

Summary:

A team of scientists has reconstructed a detailed 'tree of life' for turtles. Next generation sequencing technologies have generated unprecedented amounts of genetic information for a thrilling new look at turtles' evolutionary history. Scientists place turtles in the newly named group 'Archelosauria' with their closest relatives: birds, crocodiles, and dinosaurs.

Turtles -- like this alligator snapping turtle Macrochelys temminckii -- are a diverse group of animals with a hotly contested evolutionary history. Researchers from the California Academy of Sciences used a next-generation genetic sequencing technique to reconstruct a robust turtle 'tree of life' and fill-in existing knowledge gaps.

Credit: The California Academy of Sciences

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141124103225.htm