Scientists say grooves on a rock face overlooking the Adriatic Sea may have been made by sea turtles fleeing an earthquake.
Rock climbers in Italy’s Monte Cònero uncovered grooves in the rock that researchers now believe record a sea turtle stampede from nearly 80 million years ago. The grooves, preserved in Scaglia Rossa limestone, suggest that the turtles were fleeing an underwater avalanche triggered by an earthquake during the Late Cretaceous Period.
The discovery was detailed in a study published in Cretaceous Research on November 19.
From Deep Seabed to Mountain
What is now a mountain was once a deep seabed, later uplifted by tectonic forces. Rock samples collected by the team indicate the turtles lived around 79 million years ago. Microfossils in the limestone show the environment was hundreds of meters deep, with seafloor organisms typically erasing any animal traces — except in this case, the earthquake and subsequent underwater avalanche preserved the tracks.
How the Stampede Happened
Researchers suggest that the earthquake spurred the turtles to flee simultaneously, with some swimming in shallower waters toward the open sea, and others moving across the seafloor. The underwater avalanche then propelled them even further, preserving their forelimb grooves in the sediment.
The tracks were likely made by marine reptiles such as sea turtles, plesiosaurs, or mosasaurs, though the team favors turtles based on behavioral parallels with modern species.
Skepticism and Next Steps
Some paleontologists, including Michael Benton of the University of Bristol, note that the track patterns do not fully match the expected swimming motion of marine turtles, which use a figure-eight stroke with their forelimbs. He also questioned why the animals wouldn’t simply leave the seafloor.
Lead researcher Alessandro Montanari emphasized that, geologically, the underwater avalanche is clear, and hopes the site will be studied further to better understand these ancient marine reptile behaviors.