By Richard CollinsWriting in the journal BioScience, Jeffrey Lovich of the US Geological Survey claims that 61% of the world’s turtle species are threatened with extinction. According to Lovich and his co-authors, turtles became very numerous after the demise of the dinosaurs. According to the National Biodiversity Data Centre, five sea turtle species visit our waters. ‘Leatherback sea turtles are part of our natural heritage, and have probably been visiting Irish waters for millennia’ wrote UCC’s Dr Tom Doyle. The species, which diverged from the other turtles over 100 million years ago, has a tractor-tyre rubbery shell rather than a bony one.

Source: Irish Examiner October 07, 2018 23:01 UTC