Turtles killed, fossilized while doing it

Teenagers, beware! Here is another very good reason to never, ever have sex. Like these 50-million-year-old turtles, you could get so caught up in the act, that you don't notice you are sinking into a bog full of toxic volcanic gasses. It's a real risk! This happened to more than one pair of filthy, sex-having turtles. And condoms will not save you.

The researchers analyzed nine pairs of the turtles. Each pair was apparently made up of a male and a female — the females are slightly larger than males, have shorter tails and apparently had a hinged lower shell that may have helped them lay large eggs.

In addition, the turtles in each pair always had their rear ends oriented toward one another. Finally, in two of the pairs, "the tails of the partners are aligned with each other," Joyce said. "This is the very position in which the tails are held when living turtles mate. This observation is the true smoking gun.

"No other vertebrates have ever been found like these, so these are truly exceptional fossils," Joyce said.

Read the rest of Charles Q. Choi's story at MSNBC

Via Emily Anthes

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

Maggie goes places and talks to people. Find out where she'll be speaking next.

MORE: fossils • Science • Sex • turtles

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Drabula

I have the weirdest boner right now
- http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby
  
  Generally? Or in response to the turtle fossils?
- DreamboatSkanky
  
  To the volcano bogs for hot lovin’!
- Felton / Moderator
  
  If the erection lasts more than six hours, consult your herpetologist.
  - slayer1
    
    Or Anthropologist?
http://lemoutan.blogspot.com/ Lemoutan

Would today’s world be noticeably different had these turtles been productive? Would our planet now be dominated by lizard-people?
http://glitch.tl/ Michael Smith

This observation is the true smoking…

Doesn’t look like any of them got to the smoking stage.
malindrome

“And condoms will not save you.”

Hey, they didn’t die of venereal disease.
http://www.disoriented.net/ angusm

For the first few millennia of creation, God was able to keep Himself amused by smiting turtles for their sinful, lust-ridden ways, but eventually the novelty wore off and He had to create Man in order to give Himself something new to do.
elchip

This should be made a part of every self-respecting abstinence-only sex-ed program.
IamInnocent

Way to go turtles!
PhosPhorious

That’s how I want to go! Except. . . of course. . . not with a turtle. . .
- DreamboatSkanky
  
  Come along, now. ”Once you go Chelonia, they’re always gonna bone ya.”
http://www.facebook.com/postelwait Cameron Postelwait

slowest… teen… horror… movie… ever
Fred Cairns

The observation that “the turtles didn’t notice…” is pure supposition. It is equally likely that two turtles found they were sinking in a bog full of toxic gas and decided to make the most of their last moments.
- malindrome
  
  I don’t want to die a turtle virgin!
Ambiguity

Seriously, turtles are the randiest animals on earth. We have a lot of Eastern box turtles in our neighborhood, and more often than not whenever you come across them, their “paired.” Also: I once took the kids the the zoo, and I’ll tell you, when those Galapagos tortoises get it on….

I’m only surprised that most of the turtle fossils found aren’t like this!

When I come back, I want to be a turtle. No problem finding housing, live for a 100 years or so, and spend the majority of that time doing the dirty. I mean, what’s the downside?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3CDNBE3SHJO3GKA2M66V4PXZGA First L

True love never dies.
benher

They died doing what they loved… True Turtle Power…
http://plagmada.org Tim H

I read the headline as “Turtles as a whole committed turtle murder, and here is a fossil of such a murder in progress”.
- malindrome
  
  I’d like to thank my parents, Ayn Rand and God.
- DreamboatSkanky
  
  Alternately, “Turtles, during the act of coitus, murdered and fossilized [their victims.]”
http://jeffsoesbe.livejournal.com yeff

“It seemed like a good idea at the time…”
pamaro

There were never any better recipients of the Darwin Award.
http://noctilucent-studios.blogspot.com/ Noctilucent Studios

All of the above comments are why I love BB soooooooo much!