Monday 11 February 2013

Goo Lets Turtle Moms Pause Eggs' Growth


by LiveScience Staff
Date: 06 February 2013 Time: 05:21 PM ET

Pregnant turtles hit the pause button on their eggs' development until the time is just right to lay them in a nest, researchers say. The careful moms do this by producing a gooey substance in their reproductive tracts that cuts oxygen to the embryos, a study shows.

Female turtles must be choosy about when and where they lay their delicate eggs to make sure food resources are available and environmental conditions are safe.

"After an egg is laid, the membrane inside the egg connects and so the egg can't be turned at all or the young will die," study researcher Anthony Rafferty, of Australia's Monash University, said in a statement.

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