Rapid growth in Late Cretaceous sea turtles reveals life history strategies similar to extant leatherbacks.

ABSTRACT: Modern sea turtle long bone osteohistology has been surprisingly well-studied, as it is used to understand sea turtle growth and the timing of life history events, thus informing conservation decisions. Previous histologic studies reveal two distinct bone growth patterns in extant sea turtle taxa, with Dermochelys (leatherbacks) growing faster than the cheloniids (all other living sea turtles). Dermochelys also has a unique life history compared to other sea turtles (large size, elevated metabolism, broad biogeographic distribution, etc.) that is likely linked to bone growth strategies. Despite the abundance of data on modern sea turtle bone growth, extinct sea turtle osteohistology is virtually unstudied. Here, long bone microstructure of the large, Cretaceous sea tur

SUBMITTER: Wilson LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9924133 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature