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Fossils in flagrante delicto: Turtles' sex act frozen in time
Scientists say it's first known case of vertebrates seen copulating in the fossil record
By Charles Choi
Contributor
updated 6/19/2012 11:16:27 PM ET
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Fossil turtles have been caught having sex, the first known case of animals with backbones found copulating in the fossil record, researchers say.
The mating turtles may have been caught in a death trap as they sank to deeper layers of the lake, where they were having sex nearly 50 million years ago, the researchers speculate. The lake's deep layers may have held deadly volcanic gases or other toxins.
Scientists made their discovery at the Messel Pit in Germany, which once was a deep volcanic crater lake in a wet, tropical environment. The pit was a quarry originally mined for the oil in the shale there, but over the years, it has become the richest site in the world for understanding the living environment of the Eocene, the epoch between 57 million and 36 million years ago when mammals began conquering the planet. Animals there included early horses, reptiles, primates, honeybees, giant ants and countless birds and bats.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47884202/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.T-OGg45CBgt
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)monmouth
(21,078 posts)Odin2005
(53,521 posts)HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)in.................................................................................out.............................................................................................
.......................................in..................................................................................................................................out..
........................................................in.......................................................................................................out
Okay, it sound better when you say it out loud.
Bette Noir
(3,581 posts)At that time, the reptiles were right at the front gate. They were going at it when I arrived in the morning, and the same couple was doing the same thing when I left, 9 hours later. It was memorable. The male grunted with every thrust, which were 10-20 seconds apart. For at least 9 hours.
Thor_MN
(11,843 posts)It must've been some kind of kiss
I should've walked away, I should've walked away
progressoid
(50,031 posts)Ear Worm!!
tclambert
(11,087 posts)cbrer
(1,831 posts)Sorry, must resist.
Plucketeer
(12,882 posts)Reluctant virgins eventually have to emerge from their shell.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,038 posts)<iframe width="420" height="315" src="
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