Sea turtles use their fins as if they were hands. They literally "handle" their prey, despite the fact that the limbs have evolved for locomotion. New research reveals that behavior thought to be less likely in marine tetrapods is actually widespread. The use of fins to manipulate food may have occurred 70 million years earlier than previously thought.
Sea turtles use their fins as if they were hands. They literally "handle" the prey, although the limbs have evolved for locomotion. New research reveals that behavior thought to be less likely in marine tetrapods is actually widespread. The use of fins to manipulate food may have occurred 70 million years earlier than previously thought.
Sea turtles use their fins to manage their food. This is confirmed by researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The in-depth examination of the phenomenon is due to Jessica Fujii and Kyle Van Houtan.
They use their fins to dig, roll food and even drag it. Their clumsy fins are therefore not only used for swimming and moving but also for getting food and catching prey.
"Turtles do not have a developed frontal cortex, independent jointed fingers or any form of social learning" says Van Houtan. "Yet here we see them licking their fingers just like a child: this shows an important aspect of evolution, which is that opportunities can shape adaptations."
Fujii and Van Houtan's analyzes using photos and videos have identified widespread examples of a turtle holding a shell on the seafloor.
Similar behaviors have been documented in marine mammals, from walruses to seals to manatees, but not in sea turtles. The document shows that they are similar to the other groups in that the fins are used for a variety of foraging activities (grabbing, reinforcing, locking).
“The arts of turtles navy they evolved primarily for locomotion, not to manipulate prey, ”says Fujii. "But what they're doing suggests it anyway, even if it's not the most efficient and effective way."
The result was a surprise to the authors. The findings also offer insight into the evolution of four-legged ocean creatures and raise questions about which traits are learned and which are innate.
“We expect these things to happen with a social animals highly intelligent and adaptive, ”says Van Houtan. “It's different with sea turtles. They have never been trained to use flippers to eat by their mum, it is amazing that they are trying to figure out how to do it without learning and with fins that are not well suited to these tasks ”.
Researchers have found that sea turtles know how to use their fins in 8 different ways classified as: hold, dig, hit, throw, rub, crawl, contain and beat. All behaviors necessary for the survival of the species.
Nature will never cease to amaze us.
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Francesca Mancuso
