See it: Rare two-headed turtle hatchling found on Cape Cod
This teeny tiny turtle, which weighs less than 5 grams and is about the sign of a nickel, was discovered during nest monitoring.
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THE TAKEAWAY
- A diamondback terrapin hatchling turtle with two heads was found on Cape Cod.
- The turtle is eating, can swim and has control of all its limbs.
- It's New England Wildlife Centers' third set of bicephaly diamondback terrapin turtles in six years.
CAPE COD, Mass. - A rare two-headed diamondback terrapin turtle was found shortly after hatching in mid-September on Cape Cod.
The condition, called bicephaly, happens in many animals, even humans, though it's rare.
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Diamondback terrapin turtles are terrestrial turtles that, in Massachusetts, are found in estuaries.
The turtle weighs less than 5 grams.
(New England Wildlife Centers Staff / FOX Weather)
This teeny tiny turtle, which weighs less than 5 grams and is about the sign of a nickel, was discovered during nest monitoring in Wellfleet, Massachusetts by Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, and transported to New England Wildlife Centers veterinary hospital.
The turtle has been in care for about two weeks now, and both heads of the turtle are doing great.
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"By all accounts, the turtle is doing well, it has control of all of its limbs," Zak Mertz, CEO of New England Wildlife Centers, said.
Bicephaly means two heads.
(New England Wildlife Centers Staff / FOX Weather)
He also mentioned the turtle can swim and just had its first meal, which they weren't sure could happen because of its condition.
Newly hatched turtles don't typically eat their first meal until a few weeks after birth after absorbing their yolk sack from hatching.
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"It was very exciting for us to see that both sides were taking a meal because it means that A, they're hungry and B, it means things are functioning just as they should," Mertz said.
The number of cases of bicephaly turtles is not exactly known, though Mertz suspects that one in every few tens-of-thousands of turtles can be affected by it.
The turtle is about the size of a nickel.
(New England Wildlife Centers Staff / FOX Weather)
"This is strangely our third set of these in about six years," Mertz said.
He said from his knowledge, bicephaly can be more common in reptiles, and no one knows exactly why it happens.
"It's definitely still rare," he said about the tiny turtle discovery. "It's kind of like winning the lottery."
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It's suspected to be mostly genetic, with some theories that environmental conditions play a role as well.
The little turtle is eating, has full control of its limbs and can swim.
(New England Wildlife Centers Staff / FOX Weather)
Mertz said there's not a lot of research into the condition, and his hope with caring for the turtle is that they can continue to inform the public about how these turtles can live.
In the past two cases, Mertz said the turtles seemed to have more separate anatomy based on scans, but this turtle seems to share a lot more anatomy.
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"When we got the first set, we talked to a few other folks that had bicephalus turtles, not of the same species, but we heard stories of some of them living multiple decades," Mertz said.
The diamondback terrapin turtle is about two weeks old.
(New England Wildlife Centers Staff / FOX Weather)
New England Wildlife Centers is hopeful that because their quality of life is good, they can live a long, healthy life like the other bicephalus turtles they've heard stories about.
Mertz said they will continue to assess how the turtle is doing day-by-day, and they will keep it through the winter time.
He said there's a chance the turtle could be released into the wild if it proves to live a healthy life and shows both heads can have autonomy over the body.