Numerous gravel quarries in the middle Elbe valley near Magdeburg have already yielded many significant archaeological discoveries from the period between the Middle Pleistocene (Weichselian glaciation) and the modern era. At the Barleben-Adamsee gravel quarry, in addition to flint tools, five fragments of turtle shells between 42,000 and 50,000 years old have been found. These […]
Turtles
Posted inModern Era, Science
Two Tortoises were the First Living Beings to complete a Full Orbit around the Moon
In September 1968, the former Soviet Union launched the Zond 5 mission, a milestone in space exploration that marked not only the first time a spacecraft orbited the Moon in a circumlunar trajectory and returned to Earth but also the first time living beings did so. Onboard the spacecraft were two tortoises, becoming the first […]
Posted inScience
Endangered Green Sea Turtles Face Extinction Risk Due to Pollution, Resulting in Male Offspring Decline
The Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas, is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Their endangerment is attributed to factors such as poaching, boat collisions, habitat destruction, and accidental capture in fishing gear. However, a more insidious threat linked to climate change exacerbates the situation: green sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, meaning […]