"Lonesome George, No More"

Hello All you Friends of Turtles:

Ah, I've been so busy working on projects (as well as attempting to trim part of "E-Mail Hell") that I missed mentioning World Turtle Day (may 23rd), and World Tortoise Day (May 27). Well, not so with the most recent news in the turtle world, albeit a very sad entry, the death of Lonesome George. For those of you who may not know who Lonesome George is, well, he was the last surviving member of his subspecies of Galapagos Tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni). There are currently ten subspecies of Galapagos tortoises still roaming the islands off the coast of Ecuador.

 Lonesome George was the only living member of his subspecies, which lived on Pinta Island in the Galapagos archipelago. I first heard about him in the mid seventies, just a couple years after he was brought to the Charles Darwin Research Center to keep him safe. It appeared that he'd been alone on the island for some time. Off and on I followed his exploits over the years though not to any great degree. Still I would always stop to read any news concerning Lonesome George. There were several expeditions to Pinta Island in the hopes of finding another of George's subspecies but to no avail. He was truly the last of his kind.

There are two shell types found among the various subspecies of Galapagos tortoises; those with dome-shaped shells and those with a shell they call Saddleback because the shell has a similar shape to that of a saddle. Lonesome George was of the saddleback variety which includes the James Island Tortoise and the Hood Island Tortoise, both surviving in low numbers themselves. In fact, the Hood Island Saddlebacks were down to just twelve individuals by the seventies.

Through carefully monitored breeding programs both the Hood and James Island tortoises seem to be making progress with their numbers and appear to be on the road to recovery. Not so for Lonesome George. In the 90's two similar type females from Wolf Volcano on Isabel Island came to live with Lonesome and be his roommates. He ignored them for the most part though there were some eggs after several years though all were infertile. After some more testing it was decided to pull the females as they were really hybrids and not the best choice for George. They replaced them with Hood Island females but there was still no breeding activity. At around a hundred years of age things looked grim.

 Anyway, on Sunday Lonesome George was fond deceased in his habitat area. He had eaten fine on both Friday and Saturday and showed no signs of health problems. Though an autopsy will be performed speculation revolves around George possibly suffering a fatal heart attack. I guess in the coming weeks they'll know for sure. George will be preserved and become part of a new interpretive center for Galapagos Tortoise conservation.

There is still hope that some turtles found in and around Volcan Wolf may harbor genes of the Pinta Island Tortoises. Maybe one day the world will see a partial resurgence of this unique subspecies of Galapagos Tortoise.

 Surely the legacy left behind will live on even long after his passing. His story has done more for creating conservation awareness for many other critically endangered turtles as well as other animals at the brink of extinction. Though Lonesome George may not have been able to father any turtles to carry on the Pinta Island gene his story has helped hatch thousand of "conservation eggs" for other species, including his critically endangered cousins from Hood Island.

 Rest easy my friend, you certainly have done your job in more ways than anyone could ever imagine. Maybe now you'll find your lost brothers and sisters who left Pinta Island long before you. Oh, and by the way, say hello to Archelon for me and tell Chupacabrachelys to stop attacking them goats up there. I hope all of you have a Great Turtley Day!!!
Spawn

"Another Great "Eat Park" Day"

Hello Fellow Shell Shackers:
Well, it was another perfect day the other day so it was off to Eat Park for Gavyn (phenomenal grandson) and I to hit "Eat Park," only this time, we brought a camera. There were lots of turtles out but nowhere near as many as the last trip in December. Still...it was a good day for turtle watching as the following picture shows.



Once out on the dock we began looking for turtles. The first to show up was a nice female Florida Cooter (Pseudemys floridana peninsularis). We've seen her before. She was curios and approached the dock to check out what we were doing. Last year there were some people feeding them some chicken so I'm sure she was looking for a handout.




Shortly after she arrived an algae covered male Peninsular Cooter showed up. He wasn't out to court the female. He was just there checking out what was going on at the dock.

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From out on the lake another chelonian looked on. It was a Red-Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and from a distance, it looked to be a female.



As she swam around the dock she settled in by the male Peninsular Cooter. No, she wasn't there to breed with the male slider (that's a topic for another post), she was there to see if he was getting any food that she wasn't getting.



She hadn't missed a thing as we hadn't fed them anything. Once the three turtles continued hovering in the nice sun-warmed water it was time to give them a treat so Gavyn opened the bag of cat food I handed to him and fed them the few pieces that were in the bag. We purposely only brought a little because they are wild turtles and need to forage and hunt for their food most of the time.
It didn't take but a couple seconds before a fairly large Florida Softshell (Apalone Ferox) showed up to bully his way into the tiny morsels of food being offered.



Amazingly the Soft shell Turtle was very gentle, not snapping at any of the other turtles though definitely trying to snatch up most of the food. It was kind of comical to watch. After all the food was gone (it only took them a couple minutes, if that, to gobble it all up) they still stayed by the dock area swimming around. This allowed several new people walking the boardwalks to see three species of native Florida turtles up close and personal. After a little while Gavyn and I left, taking with us the satisfaction of..."Another Great Eat Park Day."
Have a Wonderful Day!!!
The "Creature"

"Eat Park Turtles"

Hello Fellow Shackers:
Boy, what a gap between posts. Sorry about that. The reason is not one of lack of things to write but having too many ideas and not being able to figure what to write about. Yeah, I know, lame excuse. I agree.
Anyway, Christmas went well though it was a little quiet at times for me. I didn't go to one family gathering as I wanted to stay home with my daughter on Christmas eve. Her son was with his dad so she wanted to stay home. It sounded good to me but after one early movie, "Super 8," which was over by 8:00 P. M., she went out with her friends so I was home alone. I made use of the "quiet time" and got lots of writing done on my next book.
On Sunday, we went to my niece's house and enjoyed a Christmas ham dinner. It was excellent and we went out to check out their critters which included Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, Horned Frogs, and one Box Turtle that eats anything offered it. Well, that was all good and the evening went smoothly.
It was on the 26th ,though, the day after Christmas that I got one of my neatest presents. We had honorable grandson back (actually he came home early on Sunday) so he and I took a little trip to one of our fave parks...Eat Park. That's not really it's name but to grandson that is what the park's name is. Just on a whim I brought a little food for the turtles. We got out on the lake at the park and walked out onto the dock and saw a few turtles (The day after x-mas??/ Why not, it was 75 degrees F.). Anyway, there was a young couple and their little boy there and they watched as we offered a few morsels of food to the aquatic chelonians. All of a sudden the lake was alive with the sound of music (oops, wrong story, actually, no sound at all, let's try again)...alive with turtles coming from everywhere. There were nearly thirty turtles in all; Sliders (Pseudemys peninsularis), one Red Ear (Trachemys Scripta elegans), Red-Bellied Terrapins (Pseudemys nelsoni), and Florida Softshell Turtles (Apalone ferox). None of them showed any fear and we all were treated to a neat feeding display by the lake's turtles. There was one particular Red-Belly that had a very interesting pattern of red rays on it's carapace. I'll go back when it warms up and get some pics to post. It was a fun day and before leaving for the playground the couple told me about a lake nearby called Turtle Lake where they actually have feed dispensers to get turtle food from. I'm definitely going to check that place out and get some pics.
I really enjoyed watching the Lake's residents as they presented themselves. So much so that I added it to my list of presents for the year; "A day with the turtles." My grandson enjoyed it to and got to go to the playground as well.
Have a Great Turtley Day!!!
John

Chinlechelys, a basal turtle from New Mexico

Hey Guys:
Boy the world of turtles never fails to produce interesting discussion topics. These ancient animals are truly a wonder encased in a design that has withstood the test of time for over 200,000,000 million years. That's an insane amount of time . There is no way to even comprehend that number of years, especially when we live less than a hundred years (for the most part). Therefore it is an amazing feat for turtles to have survived in an ever changing environment. Sharks and other sea life have been around longer but they live in a considerably more stable environment. Turtles were exposed to it all and yet they are still here to fascinate us even today.
For a time it was thought that maybe early Basal turtle forms like Proganochelys quenstedti from the Triassic period may have centered around Central Europe, radiating out from there. Well, in the last twenty years or so additional Triassic turtles have been found in Thailand, Argentina, and Greenland. Now we can add to that ever growing list the United States as a Triassic turtle, Chinlechelys tenertesta, has been found in the Bull Canyon region of New Mexico. This fossil dates back about 205 million years. This means that early turtles probably had a Pangaean origin.
Chinlechelys is a truly marvelous find; one for it being the first Triassic turtle found in the states, and secondly, having the thinnest shell of all turtles with a fully ossified shell. In spots the shell varies from 3mm thick down to 1mm. the species name, tenertesta equates to thin shell, a name well chosen for the species. Today's winner on the thin shell front without a doubt is the Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri). These turtles have shells so thin it can move when the small east African Tortroise breathes. These turtles frequent rocky areas and can wedge themselves in rock crevices and inflate with air, safe from predators. My guess is that Chinlechelyprobably used fallen logs or rocks, to hide in and around, for protection.
Another interesting note about this species is that it gives rise to the speculation that turtle shells were not "always" formed from flattened ribs. In Chinlechelys the ribs are attached to the osteoderm shell plate but not fused to it like in modern turtles. Whether this is really how the shell evolved or whether Chinlechelys is some sort of proto-turtle is not known. Unfortunately there was only a handful of material found of the type specimen and not all in the same trip. Whether there is enough fossil material to truly make a claim one way or another is probably doubtful. It is enough, however, to allow room for speculation. I'd like to see more material before solidifying a position one way or another. For one thing I'd like to see a skull. It is possible that Chinlechelys may not even be a true turtle though I am not saying it's not. From the artist's rendition it sure looks to be all turtle to me. The problem is that some Placodonts such as Cyamodus and Henodus resemble early turtles.. These Placodont genera have dermal armor plating to protect the soft parts of the body. The overall look is that of a turtle shell. In Cyamodus the armor plating was broken into two sections.
One thing Chinlechelys shares with Proganochelys is that it had spines on it's neck like those of Proganochelys. In fact, the first piece of this turtle that was found, was a small section of neck spines. These were probably very advantageous to have to help protect the turtle's skin from predators, of which there were many.
Unlike many of the Earth's ancient turtles that roamed the oceans, Chinlechelys was either a completely terrestrial turtle or a shallow water swamp turtle. Some of the other fossils found in the area appear to have been species associated with water such as Poposaurs, a strange looking beast somewhere between looking like a croc or possibly a dino. Either way Chinlechelys had to wander around in a habitat teaming with other beasties. They had to be very careful to stay cryptic so as not to be stepped on or bitten by other animals. My guess is that it was swamp or a moist forest animal like the turtles of the genus Notochelys are today!
As always you can't get a restful night's sleep in any paleo dormitory. The question of the day is; "Why do the call it Chinlechelys when it was found in Bull Canyon, NM. My simple answer is..."Who cares, at least they didn't name it Gamerabaena! Now turn off the light and go to sleep (lol)!" :)))
Have a Great Day!!!
The "Creature"

"Everything old is...New???"

Hello Everybody:
Yeah, I know, it's been forever since the last post. It's not like I haven't had anything to say, it's just that I've been caught up in a few hefty projects. Well, Busy or not, I'm going to spend a little more time talking about my favorite shelled warriors, the turtles.
Over the last year or so I've belonged to a unique paleontological group that studies and talks about fossil turtles. Usually an animal is brought up and then I search all over for info on the species and then post it. Sometimes I'm not too kind to the info I dig up but it's just my opinion and you know what opinions are like. Still, I'm doing all this work and I suddenly realized I could post my findings right here at the "shell Shack." So, as we unravel the mysteries of turtles past I will post my writings here as well as to the paleontological group. We can learn together about some neat ole' grampa turtles such as; Kayentachelys,Jianxichelys, Condorchelys, Bothremys, Proganochelys, Chinlechelys,Liaochelys, and the ever famous Chupacabrachelys (no kidding). So I am currently working onEileanchelys so when I'm done I'll post it here.
Have a Wonderful, Turtley Day!!!
The "Creature"

Getting Warmer All The Time"

Hello Everyone:
Ah, spring has finally arrived and looks to be here to stay. It has been a very cold winter which has slowed local turtle activity greatly (duh, but usually in Florida it never gets cold enough to slow them down much). Things are all sunshine and warmth now so it's time to get back out into the wilds to check out the activity.
I saw a picture from a small local paper showing five adult turtles (Sliders, either Peninsula or red-Bellies) and two small Alligators sunning themselves after the hard winter. They all looked none the worst for wear. then it got colder again for another ten days or so.
In early April they opened a new park near where I live and I got some great video of a large female Peninsular Cooter (Pseudemys floridana peninsularis) just floating on the surface near a boardwalk. The turtle was easily 12-14" straight line measurement. She showed no signs of fear for all the people gawking at her so that was pretty cool. She looked very good so it was obvious the cold winter didn't bother her either.
A few days later I returned to the park with my Daughter and Grandson. There was another turtle at another point in the lake. This one was smaller but I never got a good look at it because it disappeared under the water too quick. I'll see it another day.
On the way home from the park I drove by a creek near the house that I used to frequent as a youth. There on the bank of the creek sat four very healthy Sliders/Cooters soaking up the warm, early afternoon sun. It was about !:30 P.M. It was a nice way to close out the day "Turtle Watching."
Yep, spring is here and I look forward to lots of turtle activity.
Have a Great Day!!!

"Welcome to Shell Shack"

Hello Everyone:
Welcome to Shell Shack, the place where man and turtle can meet on equal ground. These wonderful animals have been around since the days of Dinos and are still here to tell their tales. Unfortunately their fairy tale story of survival is being marred by the ever encroaching advancements of mankind. Though the stopping of our detructive ways will most likely never happen, there are probably many ways in which man can live side by side with these amazing ancient animals.
Turtles are very long-lived, some even being reported as surviving longer than human beings. Unfortunately that usually means they are slower growing than many of their reptilian friends (especially lizards, many of which can mature and breed within the first year of life) and as such slower to mature. therefore their numbers can easily be exponentially altered by changes in their environment.
Turtles are a sign of longevity in many cultures. They are also considered a delicacy in many cultures as well and thus end up being a part of someone's menu. This is a growing problem in the orient today. The demand for turtle flesh is slowly exceeding the supply which could mean a downward spiral for many species. Real life solutions must be reached that would be acceptable by both Man and Chelonian alike in order to stem the tide of this cxurrent trend.
Not all is doom and gloom for these animals. They also make excellent pets and have been kept by people for hundreds and (who knows) maybe thousands of years. Pet turtles can be wonderful animals, learning to recognize their people and leading long lives that eclipse all animals except for large parrots, some amphibians, and Koi. Is it possible the salvation of these animals lies in the hands of those who love them most...Pet turtle keepers?
It is not the scope of this blog to take sides in the ongoing political play concerning these animals, it's just to talk and learn a little more about our Chelonian friends, the Turtles!!!
Have a Great day!!!