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Related: About this forumDexterous sea turtles use flippers as grippers
A green sea turtle grasps a mosaic jellyfish. Credit: Rich Carey/Shutterstock.com
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR 05 APRIL 2018
Marine reptiles hold onto their dinners with their paddle-like forelimbs.
The flippers of sea turtles are superbly adapted for swimming, leading many scientists to assume that the flap-like appendages are not suited to other tasks. But Jessica Fujii at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California and her colleagues have compiled evidence that turtles use their flippers to handle and eat prey.
The teams review of published data, online images and videos turned up observations of three species of sea turtle the green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) using their flippers to hold jellyfish and other creatures while consuming the edible parts. The team also documented sea turtles holding down prey such as scallops while tearing off smaller pieces.
Marine turtles might have been relying on their flippers at mealtimes ever since they first evolved, some 120 million years ago, the authors say.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04108-1
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Dexterous sea turtles use flippers as grippers (Original Post)
Judi Lynn
Apr 2018
OP
He's a pin ball wizard/There has got to be a twist/A pin ball wizard, S'got such a supple wrist nt
eppur_se_muova
Apr 2018
#2
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)1. KICK
eppur_se_muova
(36,261 posts)2. He's a pin ball wizard/There has got to be a twist/A pin ball wizard, S'got such a supple wrist nt
Ohiogal
(31,989 posts)3. LOL!
My family had the great privilege to watch sea turtles laying their eggs along the beach near Melbourne, Fla. many years ago. I've had a soft spot for them ever since!