Fossil Shows Several Sets of Turtles That Died Copulating

By Kelli Bender Jun 20th 2012

According to Discovery News, a recent fossil discovery shows that nine ancient turtle couples died mid-coitus.


The raunchy remains were found at Messel Pit Fossil Site between Darmstadt and Frankfurt, Germany. After studying the area, scientists believe that the animals accidentally wandered into poisonous water during their mating session.

RELATED: See These Hilarious Animal Photobombs

Walter Joyce, a researcher at the University of Tübingen who analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossils, told Discovery News that loss of focus during sex isn't uncommon in animals. Joyce said that turtles most likely entered a trance-like state during copulation, causing them not to notice the poisonous water until it was too late.

Many other different kinds of ancient creatures were also found fossilized in the same area, suggesting the toxic lake had a variety of unsuspecting victims. As for the turtle fossils, the mating pairs were found spread throughout the area, meaning these were nine random acts of love gone wrong.

RELATED: Strange Animal Sleeping Habits

The fossils are an exciting find for scientists, because they offer an intimate look at how these long-extinct animals acted in the flesh. Joyce said that this is the first time a fossil showing a vertebrate animal copulating has been found. This is because the chances of both mates dying during the act is extremely rare, and it was only captured in these circumstances due to the toxicity of the lake.

See More Weird Animal Mating Rituals: