According to the AniCura Strowaert veterinary clinic, in the Dutch city of Putten (Gelderland), a two-headed turtle was born.
The turtle named Sorte was born on July 25, in Putten, Gelderland. This is the first two-headed turtle (Centrochelys sulcata) born in the Netherlands.
The turtle weighs only 34 grams, experts have not yet been able to determine the turtle’s gender. X-rays show that the Sorte turtle has two heads, two cervical vertebrae and two airways, four front legs and two back legs, as well as two tails.
The two-headed turtle phenomenon is a congenital disease. Deformities can occur due to both genetic factors and environmental influences. The Sorte turtle is not the world’s first two-headed turtle.
The Janus Greek tortoise, born on September 3, 1997 from an egg donated to the Geneva Museum of Natural History, is said to be the longest-living tortoise in the world.
In 2018, a nature reserve in China’s Shangrao city also showed a two-headed turtle. The released video shows that the turtle’s foot movements are not synchronized, because each head controls only one side of the body.
In October 2021, Birdsey Cape Wildlife Center in Massachusetts (USA) also said it was monitoring a two-headed, six-legged diamondback turtle, a very rare species that hatched in early October 2021.
