An amateur fossil collector discovered the first side-necked turtle fossil in the UK on the Isle of Wight, dated to 127 million years ago. The accompanying image portrays a Hilaires side-neck turtle.
Lead author, Megan Jacobs, said: “This is an amazing discovery because its the very first time this type of turtle has been discovered in the UK. Even more exciting is that we used a new method of radiometric dating to identify the age of the fossil beyond any doubt. I might never ever have guessed it was such an incredibly crucial fossil.
An amateur fossil collector found the very first side-necked turtle fossil in the UK on the Isle of Wight, dated to 127 million years ago. Utilizing brand-new radiometric dating and CT scanning methods, scientists from the University of Portsmouth confirmed its age and analyzed its internal structure. The accompanying image portrays a Hilaires side-neck turtle.
An amateur fossil enthusiast, in partnership with paleontologists from the University of Portsmouth, has actually uncovered the UKs very first side-necked turtle fossil.
These ancient remains represent the earliest recognized instance of a side-necked pan-pleurodiran turtle, called as such due to the fact that they fold their neck into their shell sideways when threatened. This does imply they can just see out with one eye.
Initially found on a National Trust beach on the Isle of Wight, the turtle fossil is a practically complete shell with cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, scapulae, pelvic girdle, and appendicular bones. Regretfully, the skull was missing.
Lead author, Megan Jacobs, stated: “This is a remarkable discovery because its the first time this type of turtle has actually been discovered in the UK. Even more interesting is that we used a brand-new technique of radiometric dating to identify the age of the fossil beyond any doubt.
Lead author Megan Jacobs. Credit: Pete Johnstone.
Megan and associates dissected minerals from inside the turtle shell and evaluated them for uranium and lead. By determining the ratio of result in radioactive uranium, they developed the turtle was from the Lower Cretaceous period, around 127 million years back.
The fossil was initially 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 originate from the cliff and foreshore direct exposures of the upper part of the famous Isle of Wight fossil beds of the Wessex Formation.
This is the very first time that radiometric dating has actually been used on a fossil from the Wessex formation.
Megan included: “Weve nicknamed the turtle Burby after Steve who really kindly donated the specimen to the Dinosaur Isle Museum at Sandown on the Isle of Wight.”
The researchers also utilized cutting-edge micro CT scanning at the University of Portsmouths Future Technology Centre to discern numerous small bones. This sophisticated imaging strategy offered indispensable insight into the structure and structure of the turtles shell, without harming it.
Steve stated: “Its beyond my wildest dreams to have one of my finds released. I could never ever have guessed it was such an incredibly important fossil. Its so fantastic to see all the tiny bones inside too.”
Geologist, Dr Catherine Mottram, from the University of Portsmouths School of the Environment, Geography, and Geosciences is one of the papers co-authors. She said: “It is interesting that we have had the ability to utilize advanced radiometric dating strategies to supply absolute constraints for this essential sequence for the very first time.”
Referral: “A well preserved pan-pleurodiran (Dortokidae) turtle from the English Lower Cretaceous and the very first radiometric date for the Wessex Formation (Hauterivian– Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom” by Megan L. Jacobs, Adán Pérez-García, Marcos Martín-Jiménez, Catherine M. Mottram, David M. Martill, Andrew S. Gale, Oliver L. Mattsson and Charles Wood, 27 May 2023, Cretaceous Research.DOI: 10.1016/ j.cretres.2023.105590.
