Turtle embryo fossil identified

A turtle embryo fossil dating to the Cretaceous period is believed to have been laid by Yuchelys nanyangensis, an extinct giant turtle. It was the first time paleontologists had identified the species of a tortoise based on a fossilized embryo.

The fossil was found during a field investigation in Henan province by two professors from the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) in 2018. They found what they suspected were skeletal structures at damaged parts of the shell. CT scan and 3D image restoration showed it was a tortoise embryo, the second of its kind found in China.