Reptiles, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 20, 2012

Loggerhead Turtle Migration Follows Magnetic Map

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Nesting season for loggerhead turtles — a threatened species — is in full swing on the sandy beaches between Florida and North Carolina. Nesting began this year in the first days of April, several...

Jun 22, 2012

Baby Tortoise Hatches at San Diego Zoo

A Madagascar spider tortoise has successfully hatched at the San Diego Zoo, the zoo announced this week. The zoo is home to two males and two females of this species; the sex of the newly hatched tortoise is not yet known. The zoo has been working with this species since...

Jul 12, 2012

Giant, Round Prehistoric Turtle Discovered

Updated at 5 p.m. ET. A newfound giant turtle that lived 60 million years ago in what is now northwestern South America would have been more than a mouthful for a neighboring predator, the world's largest snake Titanoboa. The turtle's huge carapace, or shell, was nearly circular, like a tire,...

Jul 26, 2012

Photo: Host of Tiny Turtles Born at Aquarium

A big baby boom of teeny turtles has hit the Tennessee Aquarium, and keepers have their hands full caring for their newly-hatched charges, among them some rare species whose populations are facing steep declines in the wild. The Chattanooga institution has welcomed 20 reptilian bundles of joy in recent weeks....

Sep 21, 2012

Blood Tests Show Where Loggerhead Turtles Go

Every year, thousands of endangered loggerhead sea turtles crawl ashore at Florida's Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge to lay eggs before dragging their leathery bodies back into the sea. But where they go after their trek isn't well-known. Scientists can use GPS devices to record turtles' travels, but these geolocator...

Oct 5, 2012

Endangered Sea Turtle Saved from 'Pirate Fishermen'

Rangers at Cocos Island, a Costa Rican national park in the Pacific Ocean, say they recently found an endangered green sea turtle hooked by fishermen in protected waters. The turtle was released alive, but injured, and conservation officials say the episode highlights the threat of illegal long-line fishing. Pirate fishermen...

Oct 11, 2012

Potty Mouth! Turtle Dips Head in Puddles to Pee

Soft-shelled turtles from China can essentially expel pee from their mouths, researchers say. This odd ability may have helped them invade salty environments, researchers explained. Scientists investigated the Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis). These turtles are often found in brackish swamps and marshes. Intriguingly, these reptiles submerge their heads in...

Oct 19, 2012

Sea Turtles Make Strong Showing in Florida

Loggerhead sea turtles are nesting along Florida's beaches in strong numbers this year, according to researchers with the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). This year, surveyors counted 58,172 loggerhead nests along nearly 250 miles of Florida's coastline. The FWC said this is one of the highest counts since...

Oct 29, 2012

Do All Turtles Have Shells?

While most turtles sport a hard, protective shell on their backs, leatherback sea turtles have their bony protection embedded under their skin and oily flesh. Hence the name… Most turtle shells are made of scutes, or hard, bony plates outside the turtle's skin, but the leatherback has mini-plates underneath its...

Oct 30, 2012

Jurassic Turtle Graveyard Found in China

Scientists say they've uncovered a pile of 1,800 Jurassic turtle skeletons in China that had been swept into a mass grave millions of years ago. The fossilized mesa chelonia turtles were found in China’s northwest province of Xinjiang in what paleontologists call a bone bed with some of the shells...

Nov 7, 2012

Sandy's Surge Hit Baby Sea Turtle Boom

As Hurricane Sandy roared up the East Coast, it threatened to disturb the best loggerhead turtle nesting season on record. Florida, South Carolina and Georgia all reported baby booms, with more nests than ever since the states began tracking turtles in the 1980s. North Carolina had its third highest year,...

Jan 17, 2013

Desert Tortoises Can Hear Better Underwater

Desert tortoises, as their name suggests, don't encounter many large bodies of water. But surprisingly, all turtles, even desert tortoises, can hear better underwater, recent research finds. If a desert tortoise decided to stick its head underwater, it could hear better, said Katie Willis, a University of Maryland doctoral student...

Feb 6, 2013

Goo Lets Turtle Moms Pause Eggs' Growth

Pregnant turtles hit the pause button on their eggs' development until the time is just right to lay them in a nest, researchers say. The careful moms do this by producing a gooey substance in their reproductive tracts that cuts oxygen to the embryos, a study shows. Female turtles must...

Feb 27, 2013

Pacific Leatherback Turtles' Alarming Decline Continues

The Pacific leatherback turtle's last population stronghold could disappear within 20 years if conservation efforts aren't expanded, a new study finds. Most of the Pacific Ocean's leatherback turtles, at least 75 percent, lay their eggs at Bird's Head Peninsula in Papua Barat, Indonesia. The number of leatherback turtle nests at...

Apr 4, 2013

Is This Turtle Extinct? Nope, It Just Never Existed

A species of freshwater turtle found on the Seychelles was thought to be extinct for more than 100 years but now scientists are taking back that ruling. No, they didn't find any sneaky holdouts on the tiny Indian Ocean islands. Rather, a genetic analysis of a specimen at the Natural...