Study of mitochondrial DNA reveals how the loggerhead turtle reached the Mediterranean
Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 08:02
in Paleontology & Archaeology
To date, it was thought that the loggerhead turtle arrived to the Mediterranean from North America and the Caribbean after the last glacial period. However, latest scientific studies show that this marine species colonized the Mediterranean between 20,000 and 200,000 years ago, so the colonization event took place before the last glacial period. Experts Lluís Cardona, Àlex Aguilar and Marcel Clusa from the Department of Animal Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona (UB), and Carlos Carreras and Marta Pascual (member of IRBio), from the Department of Genetics of UB, participated in these studies.