An ancient reptile once thought to be an early turtle ancestor actually belonged to an entirely different group.

From which ancestors have turtles evolved? How did they get their shell? New data provides evidence that turtles are not primitive reptiles but belong to a sister group of birds and crocodiles. The ...

There are a couple of key features that make a turtle a turtle: its shell, for one, but also its toothless beak. A newly-discovered fossil turtle that lived 228 million years ago is shedding light on ...

A newly discovered early turtle fossil from 228 million years ago is missing something crucial: its shell. But in the long, intriguing tale of turtle evolution, turtles didn’t always have it all — ...

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 ...

The tropical region of South America is one of the world's hot spots when it comes to animal diversity. The region's extinct fauna is unique, as documented by fossils of giant rodents and crocodylians ...

Learn how a 260-million-year-old Permian reptile, once thought to explain turtle evolution, turned out to belong to a different lineage, reshaping the story of turtle origins in the Triassic Period.

Scientists say a 260-million-year-old fossil from Africa is that of the earliest-known turtle, despite not having a shell, and marks the first branch of the turtle tree of life. Although it lacked the ...

Led by palaeontologist Dr Stephan Spiekman, a new Emmy Noether Research Group funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) is launching at the Stuttgart Natural History Museum and the University of ...