{"id":161457,"date":"2020-04-27T07:56:12","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T06:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsforher.com\/?p=161457"},"modified":"2020-04-27T07:56:16","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T06:56:16","slug":"scientists-discover-new-species-of-turtle-that-looks-like-a-muddy-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/?p=161457","title":{"rendered":"Scientists discover new species of turtle that looks like a muddy rock"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- m -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"5751019935\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p> [ad_1]\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"id_text\">\n<p>Finally, some good news: A <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2020-04-species-turtle.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new turtle species has been discovered<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Scientist and professor Dr. Uwe Fritz of the Senckenberg Natural History Collections in Dresden, Germany and his international team have identified a new type of fringed turtle, also called <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalzoo.si.edu\/animals\/matamata-turtle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">matamata<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These reptiles don&#8217;t look like your usual house pet turtle; they hide in the mud and, as such, look like rocks covered in algae when underwater. They also don&#8217;t eat like other turtles, either: When a prey approaches, it&#8217;s sucked into their large mouths and then swallowed whole.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Until now, it was assumed that there was only one type of [armor-wearer] that was widespread in South America,&#8221; said Fritz in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senckenberg.de\/de\/pressemeldungen\/fransenschildkroete-neue-art-entdeckt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Senckenberg press release<\/a>, translated from German to English.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image\">\n<p><picture itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><source   type=\"image\/webp\"><\/source><source   type=\"image\/jpeg\"><\/source><img alt=\"The newly-discovered species in action.\" class=\"\" data-fragment=\"m!1cef\" data-image=\"https:\/\/mondrian.mashable.com\/uploads%252Fcard%252Fimage%252F1279825%252F03b679d9-a9a4-430a-b599-4c04162cc4eb.jpg%252Ffull-fit-in__1200x2000.jpg?signature=Q3-B6nGbYZmj43PHuHWfOaQNeec=&amp;source=https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com\" data-micro=\"1\"   src_type=\"jpeg\"><\/picture><figcaption class=\"image-caption\">\n<p>The newly-discovered species in action.\n<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><div class=\"image-credit\">\n<p>Image:  Senckenberg Natural History Collections\n<\/p>\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"2\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- 2 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"5511153269\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Fritz explained that while fringed turtles are known for their odd appearance and way of eating, little is known about their genetics \u2014 which is why the new species was only discovered now. Because previous studies indicated that matamatas can vary in appearance, Fritz and his team studied 75 DNA samples to see if there was a genetic difference \u2014 and indeed there was.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Apparently, the separation between the two species occurred 13 million years ago. Now, the newly discovered matamata can be found in Orinoco and R\u00edo Negro basins in South America, while the previously-known matamata turtles reside in the Amazon basin.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-also\">\n<p class=\"see-also-link\">SEE ALSO: <a href=\"https:\/\/me.mashable.com\/science\/10010\/the-first-chilling-images-of-earth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The first, chilling images of Earth<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Fritz and his team released their findings in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S1055790320300956?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recent paper in the journal <em>Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution<\/em><\/a>, where they also discussed the issue of endangerment. As of now, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senckenberg.de\/de\/pressemeldungen\/fransenschildkroete-neue-art-entdeckt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">they aren&#8217;t considered endangered<\/a>, according to Professor Mario Vargas-Ram\u00edrez, first author of the paper.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn&#8217;t mean these turtles aren&#8217;t in need of protection. Vargas-Ram\u00edrez continued: &#8220;Thousands of these bizarre-looking animals end up in the illegal animal trade and are confiscated by the authorities. We must protect these fascinating animals before it is too late.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"5\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- 5 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9258826580\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/me.mashable.com\/science\/10050\/scientists-discover-new-species-of-turtle-that-looks-like-a-muddy-rock\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"3\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- 3 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"2884989920\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Finally, some good news: A new turtle species has been discovered.\u00a0 Scientist and professor Dr. Uwe Fritz of the Senckenberg Natural History Collections in Dresden, Germany and his international team have identified a new type of fringed turtle, also called matamata. These reptiles don&#8217;t look like your usual house pet turtle; they hide in &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":161458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161457"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=161457"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161459,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161457\/revisions\/161459"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/161458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=161457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=161457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=161457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}