Devotees of the testudines rejoice! Whether you have one as a pet, admire them at the zoo, or giggle with the rest of the internet when they rock each other off logs, chances are high, we think, that you like turtles. We like turtles! And conveniently for us, turtle science is also extremely cool, so this was basically an ideal episode to make. Enjoy!
SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!
Head to www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter! A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Glenn Trewitt for helping to make the show possible!
And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!
Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!
[Truth or Fail]
Fossilized turtle poop showing green algae feast site
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/995472
https://www.science.org/content/article/sea-turtles-have-3000-year-old-routines
Crushing of fossilized turtle shells shows burial site age
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/26/science/turtle-shells-fossils-paleontology.html
https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geosphere/article/18/5/1524/616297/Crushed-turtle-shells-Proxies-for-lithification
Turtle fossil was actually a plant fossil
https://www.livescience.com/animals/120-million-year-old-plants-turn-out-to-be-ultra-rare-fossilized-baby-turtles
[Trivia Question]
Speed of a sand-digging robot modeled after a turtle hatchling
https://today.ucsd.edu/story/bot-inspired-by-baby-turtles-can-swim-under-the-sand-1
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aisy.202200404
[Fact Off]
Chinese soft-shelled turtles (basically) pee out their mouths
https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/215/21/3723/19178/The-Chinese-soft-shelled-turtle-Pelodiscus
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121011090643.htm
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aohc/63/2/63_2_181/_article
https://theconversation.com/no-overwintering-turtles-dont-breathe-through-their-butts-getting-to-the-bottom-of-a-popular-misconception-224331
Microplastics in sand mess with sea turtle sex ratios
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230623210244.htm#:~:text=Warmer%20temperatures%20are%20known%20to,before%20their%20sex%20is%20set.
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/temperature-dependent.html#:~:text=This%20is%20called%20temperature%2Ddependent,the%20hatchlings%20will%20be%20female.
[Ask the Science Couch]
Turtle communication and vocalization
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24553
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14356-3
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33741-8 https://gizmodo.com/jurassic-parks-dinosaur-sound-effects-were-actually-ani-5994278
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/06/turtles-eat-south-america/
[Butt One More Thing]
Collecting loggerhead sea turtle fecal samples by making them custom swimsuits
https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2015/10/sea-turtles-don-swimsuits-science
Pictures:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/37175871@N06/albums/72157659326105212/
SciShow Tangents