Tomorrow tortoise is not to do something like you think

Research shows that, at first, tortoise shells are not for protecting their bodies, but for digging soil.

Back in time 260 million years ago, just before the dinosaurs. This journey will go to the current South Africa, taking you to a river. And then, wait.

If you're lucky, you can see a small, palm-sized creature poking its head out of the mud. It looked like a fat lizard, with bulging wings and sturdy legs. But if you try to grab it and flip it up, you will see its wings bulging because the ribs are large, wide and flat, making its lower part firm. This is almost a small creature that has half a shell (shell).

This is Eunotosaurus , and though somewhat like a lizard, it's actually one of the earliest known turtles.

The symbolic turtle of the turtle is not to protect it, but to excavate the earth.

It was discovered in 1892 and was ignored for almost a century. But by studying the many fossils of this mysterious reptile, Tyler Lyson, from the Denver Museum of Natural Science, devised a new, interesting idea of ​​the origin of the turtle. He thought that the symbolic turtle of the turtle was not meant to protect it, but to dig up the earth. The shell is attached to a strong arm to transfer soil and sand. Before the turtle became an impregnable fortress, they were professional earthmakers.

For nearly a century, biologists have debated whether the tortoise has a shell - it's a slow and heavy debate like this creature itself. Paleontologists primarily argue that tortoise shells evolved from bone tissue, also known as bone scales , which also make armor for crocodiles, tatu, and many dinosaurs. These simple bone tissue has expanded, combined with ribs and spine, to create a solid casing. But evolutionary biologists disagree. By studying today's turtle embryos, they deduced that tortoise shells evolved from ribs, this part of the bone has expanded and actually fused.

But the debate is not helpful for the oldest famous turtle, called Proganochelys . This turtle has a fully developed (and very sharp) shell, meaning it cannot tell us anything about how the apricot structure appears.

Things changed in 2008, when Chinese researchers found a 220-million-year-old turtle with a shell that covered only the abdomen without covering its back. They called this turtle Odontochelys - literally, " a turtle with teeth in half a shell". They see this turtle as a beautiful intermediate fossil that gives hope to research. Especially, it has no bone scales. However, it has very large ribs. Thus, evolutionary biologists are right!

Later, archaeologists found a new species of turtle, Pappochelys . They entered into the family of established beings like Eunotosaurus. With these fossils, scientists can reconstruct the evolution of tortoise shells .

First, the lower ribs become wider, larger and fuse together to form half of the shell - like a bib. After that, the upper ribs follow this formula and merge with the spine, creating the shell. Finally, undergoing a slightly more complex evolution, the ribs began to grow on the shoulder blades, not below as for most terrestrial vertebrates.

The Eunotosaurus turtle has the same body structure as a professional excavator.

Scientists go on to find out how the turtle evolved and what to do."When I go to turtle research conferences, I talk to people, and they will automatically say that tortoise shells are to protect them." Lyson recalled. " But that doesn't make sense." The modern species of turtles may have defensive and protective effects, but the large ribs of the Eunotosaurus and Pappochelys are not. The shell of this turtle doesn't even cover its head, neck, or back.

So, to explain why the turtle shell grows, first explain why their ribs are getting bigger. Lyson gave a new answer by studying a large number of Eunotosaurus fossils . There is a specimen, recently discovered by an 8-year-old South African boy, especially important because it preserves the whole body, including hands and feet.

Lyson found that Eunotosaurus has many different characteristics. It has a short skull, a larger and more firm front part than the posterior limb. The shoulder blades and arms have large mounting joints, all of which are intended to help its arms get better force. In short, the Eunotosaurus turtle has the same body structure as a professional excavator.

These same characteristics also help to swim well. But Lyson discovered that Eunotosaurus has two characteristics that the digging skill needs to swim without: it is a big claw to break rock, and thick bones to withstand the compressive forces. In fact, when Lyson observed its legs in cross section, he discovered that the front legs had super thick bones, but the hind legs were not. Again, all showed that it was a burrow specialist.

Eunotosaurus is often found near ponds and rivers.

Eunotosaurus is often found near ponds and river banks, but lives at a time when the South African climate is very dry. Perhaps he dug the earth to escape the heat. Its eyes are also a proof. A newly discovered Eunotosaurus specimen still has sclerosis rings - hard bone rings around the eyes. In this way, Lyson deduced that animals with small eyes may be sensitive to light. He deduced that this is evidence of a major underground life.

"Eunotosaurus is clearly very good at digging," said Rainer Schoch from the National Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart. "The big question is whether the early turtles are half-lives - as well as Pappochelys and Odontochelys - well trained. This is very important because they represent the real-time tortoise shells."

According to Business Insider, after much research, research, turtle shells, is considered a great evolutionary example. Initially, tortoise shells were used as a tool to help digging turtles well, and then evolved into an armor. Feather is also an evolutionary example. At present, feathers help birds fly, but at first it grows, feathers can be just a method of keeping warm or a signal transmitted to their partners and opponents.

"The change in body characteristics can only bring about a specific benefit based on current capabilities, not the future," Cebra-Thomas said. "This is very important, not just to understand the evolution of turtles."