A rare baby turtle that was nearly ready to hatch was found inside an ancient fossil egg allowing scientists to make an interesting connection. Darla Zelenitsky, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of paleontology at the University of Calgary said “This is actually the first time that fossil turtle eggs or a nest really could be attributed to a particular turtle.”
The egg belongs to the species of nanhsiungchelyid turtle, a massive, ancient, and land-living reptile that inhabited Asia and North America. According to the study published, this type of turtle relates to modern softshell turtles. The study was published on Wednesday, in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
This turtle is said to have lived among dinosaurs like tyrannosaurs, duck-billed hadrosaurs, and more. Unfortunately, the species of turtle went extinct with all the other dinosaurs. Zelenitsky estimates the size of the female that laid this egg was roughly 1.6 metres in length, which is bigger than the giant Galapagos tortoise. Zelenitsky said “It was a giant turtle for the time,”
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