Currently, only seven species of sea turtles exist. Among them are two in the genus Lepidochelys: the olive ridley and the Kemp's ridley. Despite being among the most common sea turtles in much of the Caribbean Sea and elsewhere, little is known about their history or evolution. The remains of a turtle shell recently found on Panama's Caribbean coast represent the oldest fossil evidence of these turtles ever found.
The discovery of the fossil in the Chagres Formation indicates that this turtle lived approximately 6 million years ago in Panama in the upper Miocene Epoch, a time when the world was getting cooler and drier, with ice accumulating at the poles, sea levels falling and reduced rainfall.
In addition to finding the oldest record of Lepidochelys turtles, the researchers discovered something unexpected in the fossil bones of this turtle: traces of DNA. After detecting preserved bone cells with nucleus-like structures, they used a solution called DAPI to test for the presence of the genetic material.
Fossil remains of a turtle shell from 6 million years ago were found in Piña Beach, on the Caribbean coast of Panama. Credit: Carlos De Gracia, University of Vienna and STRI "The Caribbean fossils from Panama that we have managed to rescue over the years are helping to rewrite the history of marine vertebrates of the Isthmus," said Carlos De Gracia, co-author of the study and a doctoral fellow affiliated with STRI.
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