Hans-Dieter Sues - Curator, Paleontology, National Museum of Natural History In a fit of pique, according to one of Aesop's fables, the god Hermes made the animal carry its house forever on its back.

CONSIDER the floating fortress that is a sea turtle. It seems to fly gracefully through the water even though it is encased in heavy armour. This combination of poise and protection evolved like any ...

An artistic rendering shows an early proto turtle Eunotosaurus (foreground) burrowing into the banks of a dried-up pond to escape the harsh arid environment present 260 million years ago in South ...

Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The church publishes the ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Shell integration typically involves 50 to 60 individual bones fusing into a permanent structural cage. The carapace creates a ...

Learn how researchers use archaeological techniques to show how sea turtle shells grow in layers that capture chemical clues about diet, movement, and ocean change over time. Sea turtles don’t just ...

Learn how Neanderthals in central Europe hunted pond turtles and likely reused their shells as containers or scooping tools.

The fossilized remains of a bizarre-looking reptile are giving scientists new insights into how turtles got their distinctive shells. Some 240 million years ago, this early turtle-like creature lived ...

Cartoons often suggest turtles wear shells like removable armor. Those stories show turtles stepping out, swapping shells, or treating them like clothing. Biology disagrees. A turtle shell is not an ...