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Rare Yellow Albino Turtle Saved in Western India

Rare Yellow Albino Turtle Saved in Western India
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Rare Yellow Albino Turtle Saved in Western India

Rare Yellow Albino Turtle Saved in Western India

A bizarre turtle that is bright yellow has been spotted in a village pond in West Bengal, India. The rare animal is afflicted with a form of albinism, which affects its coloration and has been compared online to melted cheese on a burger. It belongs to a rare species called the Indian flap shell turtle.

Sneha Dharwadka posted images of the turtle on Twitter and suggested two potential explanations for its bizarre coloration. "It's an albino kind whose peculiar yellow color may be caused by either some genetic mutation or congenital disorder due to absence of tyrosine pigment," he says.

According to The Daily Mail, the Indian flap shell turtle, which is normally green, is typically found in South Asia and is between 9 to 14 inches long. In August, a similar animal of the same species was discovered in Nepal. At the time it was compared to a mythological incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu.

These two events make up just the fifth and sixth sightings of albinism in this species.

Kamal Devkota, a reptile expert who documented the previous find, said the reptile had a deep spiritual significance. "Not only golden animals but turtles overall have significant religious and cultural value in Nepal," he said.

"It is believed that Lord Vishnu took the form of a turtle to save the universe from destruction in his incarnation. In Hindu mythology, the upper shell of the turtle denotes the sky and lower shell denotes earth," he explained. Vishnu's turtle avatar, known as Kurma, is today worshipped in a number of temples in India. The golden turtle owes its remarkable color to chromatic leucism — a condition characterized by a loss of color pigmentation. Leucism usually results in white, pale, or patchy skin, but in this case it leads to yellow pigments.

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Danish Archaeologists Unearth 50 Viking Skeletons

Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA
Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA
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Danish Archaeologists Unearth 50 Viking Skeletons

Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA
Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA

The excavation of a large Viking-era burial site in Denmark has unearthed 50 unusually well-preserved skeletons that archaeologists expect will help shed light on the lives of the Nordic people best known for their seafaring exploits in the Middle Ages.

The skeletons, discovered near Denmark's third-largest city Odense, were kept intact by high water levels and favorable soil conditions that prevented them from decomposing, according to Michael Borre Lundoe, the excavation leader from Museum Odense, Reuters reported.

"Normally when we excavate Viking graves, we'd be lucky if there were two teeth left in the grave besides the grave goods. But here we have the skeletons fully preserved," said Lundoe.

"The skeletons are so amazing. They are so well preserved. There are five fingers, five toes. And that opens up a whole new set of possibilities for discoveries," he said.

Rare artifacts such as knives, glass pearls and brooches dated between year 850 to 970 were also found at the excavation, which began six months ago.

Lundoe said the grave gifts indicate most of the people were part of a small community of farmers, although a woman of higher status was buried with a silver-ornamented knife and a piece of glass which was rare in the Viking Age.

Archaeologists took soil samples to search for pollen to determine which season the person was buried in and what textiles they wore.

An x-ray of a soil block from the site revealed an oval brooch, an iconic Viking Age jewelry piece associated with women's garments, covered with wood and human remains.

On the back of another brooch with period-specific ornaments, mineralized woven textile fragments provided evidence of the type of dress worn in the Viking Age, the archaeologists said.

Most of the skeletons have been removed from the graves and packed in cardboard boxes at the museum to dry out before the examination and final cleaning.