14 September 2019 | New Scientist | 7Palaeontology
Michael Marshall
A JURASSIC turtle seems to have
been squashed flat before it
was fossilised, possibly because
a giant dinosaur trod on it.
The marine turtle fossil was
found in 2007 in Switzerland
and dates from about 155 million
years ago. This was the late
Jurassic period, when huge,
long-necked sauropod dinosaurs
dominated the land.
Most turtles from the time are
found in marine sediments, but
this one was on land. “It’s like a
tidal flat, where we mostly found
dinosaur prints and tracks,” says
palaeontologist Christian Püntener,
who was employed by the
Republic and Canton of the Jura
in Switzerland to study local
fossils. Finding the turtle there
is significant, he says, because
previously there was no hard
evidence that Jurassic marine
turtles ventured onto land.
The turtle was on its back, which
suggests it had become stuck on
the tidal flat and died there, says
Püntener. It isn’t known what it
was doing there. One possibility
is that it came ashore to lay eggs,
as marine turtles do today, but it is
unclear whether the animal was
male or female. If the tidal flat
was a nursery, there ought to be
more turtle fossils.
However, the most striking thing
about the turtle is the state of the
fossil. Most of it is unusually flat.
Seen from the side, a big chunk
of it is visibly lower than the rest
in the rocks. This suggests a heavy
weight crushed much of the shell.
The rock layers in which it was
found also contain many dinosaur
footprints. The lowered part of
the turtle fossil is 7.5 centimetres
below the rest, which is about
the depth of the dinosaur tracks,
meaning a huge, long-necked
sauropod may have trodden on
the turtle’s corpse after its death
(PaleorXiv, doi.org/c99s). ❚
Jurassic turtle may
have been trodden
on by giant dinosaur
STATE governments in the
US are cracking down on
e-cigarettes, after three deaths
were attributed to vaping-
related lung conditions.
Here’s what you need to know.How did these deaths occur?
In July, an Illinois resident
developed a lung infection
and died after using a vaping
device that contained
marijuana oil. Then, on 5 and
6 September, two deaths were
confirmed in Oregon and
Indiana involving vaping and
respiratory problems.
It isn’t clear how these
problems led to the deaths.
It could be that something
either in the e-cigarette or
the substances smoked
through them caused
inflammation of the lungs.Has anyone else been ill?
The US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC)
says that as of 6 September, 450
possible cases of vaping-related
severe lung disease have been
reported by 33 states. In additionto three deaths, this multistate
outbreak includes people who
have reported coughs, shortness
of breath, chest pain, fever,
fatigue, nausea, vomiting and
diarrhoea. Some people turn up
to hospital with symptoms that
look like pneumonia, and have
been put on ventilators or
treated in intensive care units.Do we know whether these
symptoms are caused by vaping?
We aren’t certain, but there
could be a connection. In eachof these cases, people reported
using e-cigarettes. But no single
product or substance has been
associated with all the illnesses.
Ann Thomas, a public health
physician in Oregon, said in
a statement that we don’t yet
know the exact cause of these
illnesses, or whether they
are due to ingredients in the
vaping liquid, contaminants
or the devices themselves.
One potential cause has
been identified by the US Food
and Drug Administration.
An oil derived from vitamin E
was found in nearly all vaped
cannabis samples from people
who fell ill in New York. But that
oil wasn’t found in tests of the
nicotine products that had
been used by others who also
had lung problems after vaping.So are e-cigarettes dangerous?
We simply don’t know.
Some research has shown
that vaping is less harmful
than smoking traditional
cigarettes, but using
e-cigarettes still carries risk.
“Vaping exposes users
to many different substancesfor which we have little
information about related
harms – including flavourings,
nicotine, cannabinoids, and
solvents,” said CDC director
Robert Redfield in a statement.What is happening now?
Public health departments
in some US states are
urging people to stop using
any kind of vaping device
immediately. On 4 September,
Michigan became the first
US state to ban flavoured
e-cigarettes.Are these illnesses a concern
in the UK?
The UK regulates e-cigarettes
that contain nicotine more
tightly than the US. “Advice
to discourage people from
vaping legal, regulated e-liquids
appears to be unwarranted
and risks pushing people back
to smoking,” said Sarah Jackson
at University College London
in a statement. ❚CHRISTIAN HORZ/EYEEM/GETTYE-cigarettes can help
people quit smoking, but
their risks are uncertainConcern over vaping deaths
Briefing E-cigarettesThree people have died and hundreds have become
seriously ill after vaping. Chelsea Whyte reports“ We don’t know if the
illnesses are due to
ingredients, contaminants
or the vaping devices”