Ancient Turtle from Wyoming Reveals Climate Change Clues

Tropical turtle fossils in Wyoming may show a bit more about the history of Earth's climate. Scientists have found that when our planet got warmer, prehistoric turtles headed north; if the turtles of today try the same technique, though, they may run into trouble.

The new species discovered in Wyoming is thought to be among the species that migrated 500 to 600 miles north about 56 million years ago. During this time period, there was a temperature peak known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Lasting about 200,000 years, this peak resulted in a significant movement and diversification of plants and animals.

"We knew that some plants and lizards migrated north when the climate warmed, but this is the first evidence that turtles did the same," said Jason Bourque, one of the researchers, in a news release. "If global warming continues on its current track, some turtles could once again migrate northward, while others would need to adapt to warmer temperatures or go extinct."

In order to put the new turtle in evolutionary context, the researchers examined hundreds of specimens from museum collections. The fossil history of the modern relatives of this new species hint that they could be much more wide-ranging, if not for their restricted habitats. The ancient species is actually an ancestor of the endangered Central American river turtle and other warm-adapted turtles in Belize, Guatemala and southern Mexico.

"This is an example of a turtle that could expand its range and probably would with additional warming, but-and that's a big but-that's only going to happen if there are still habitats for it," said Patricia Holroyd, co-author of the new study.

The findings are published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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