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Entries in loggerhead (1)

Wednesday
Mar312010

Not the Dry Tortugas, as such...

ResearchBlogging.org
...more like the Floating Tortugas.  An article in Science Now and The Journal of Experimental Biology reports on mysterious gatherings of loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean, resembling an island made out of turtles.  It seems the critters gather to soak up the midday sun.  We probably should be surprised given how common basking is among reptiles, but loggerheads are known to spend most of their time on the bottom, so its a bit unusual.  What I find even more cool about this story is that its only now just being described, even though its in the middle of one of the busiest bits of sea in the world; how did no-one ever report on this before?  I love that there's still new stuff to discover everyday, and 90% of it is in the ocean, even the most familiar stretches.  A virtual island raft composed entirely of turtles - can you just imagine?

Knight, K. (2010). LOGGERHEADS STAY AT SURFACE TO SOAK UP SUN Journal of Experimental Biology, 213 (8) DOI: 10.1242/jeb.043901