Remnants of DNA have been discovered in fossilized remains dating to 6 million years ago of a sea turtle closely related to today's Kemp's ridley and olive ridley turtles, marking one of the rare times genetic material has been identified in such ancient fossils of a vertebrate, researchers said on Thursday.
The researchers said some bone cells, called osteocytes, were exquisitely preserved in the fossil, which was excavated along Panama's Caribbean coast in 2015. The fossil is partial, with a relatively complete carapace - the turtle's shell - but not the rest of the skeleton. The turtle would have been about a foot long when alive, they said.
"I want to point out that we did not extract DNA, we only were able to recognize the presence of DNA traces in the nuclei," added Cadena, of Universidad del Rosario in Bogota and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The turtle is from the same genus - Lepidochelys - as two of the world's seven living species of sea turtles - the Kemp's ridley, the world's smallest sea turtle, and the olive ridley, Cadena said. Kemp's ridley, with a triangular-shaped head and a slightly hooked beak, is primarily found in the Gulf of Mexico.
"Each fossil, each fossil site has specific conditions of preservation that in some cases could have favored preservation of original biomolecular remains such as proteins and DNA," Cadena said.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
Rain, wind from Ophelia remnants finally nearing an end for N.J.Coastal flood warnings and advisories have been issued for the Jersey Shore and Delaware Bay with wind gusts up to 40 mph on Tuesday.
Consulte Mais informação »
See photos inside cave previously hidden underwater at Canyon Lake; remnants of old town also revealedCanyon Lake has been making headlines all summer for record low water levels but more recently, the receding water revealed a cave that was previously hidden underwater and one man who works on the lake went to look inside.
Consulte Mais informação »
Caribbean Parrots Are Remnants Of A Millennial Scale ExtinctionA study unearths and compares parrot diversity in the Caribbean before and after human arrival on the islands.
Consulte Mais informação »
The Ticket parent company reaches resolution with former hosts Dan McDowell, Jake KempSusquehanna Radio, the parent company of The Ticket has reached a resolution with Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp, former co-hosts of the Dallas station’s The Hang...
Consulte Mais informação »
The Ticket's parent company, former hosts Jake Kemp, Dan McDowell resolve lawsuitThe Ticket reached a mutual agreement with former hosts Jake Kemp and Dan McDowell, ending the legal battle over the podcast known as The Dumb Zone, which had received national attention.
Consulte Mais informação »
Rosalind Franklin Deserves a Posthumous Nobel Prize for Co-discovering DNA StructureAwarding Rosalind Franklin a Nobel Prize posthumously for her role in DNA discovery is the honorable—and scientific—thing to do
Consulte Mais informação »