Two-headed Turtle
Saturday, September 29th, 2007
(Sorry I have to keep this small because I get goosepimples when I see a larger version of it)
This two-headed turtle was captured by an exotic-turtle collector in Florida and sold to a aquarium in Norristown. The conjoined-twin has two heads sticking out from opposite ends of its shell and has a pair of front legs on each side. There is only one pair of hind legs and one tail. Do you see them? I wonder which of the ‘turtles’ is controlling the pair of hind legs and the tail. Or is the control shared?
Minnesota: In 1973, due to a chemical accident during the early development of the embryo, a two-headed turtle, named Emily was born. Emily had two heads on the same end of its shell, making it a different two-headed turtle from the first mentioned turtle. Although it was named Emily, it was never determined if it was male or female.
In the same year, Emily was brought to the Science Museum of Minnesota and in the same year, it was taken to the University of Minnesota’s Department of Veterinary Radiology for X-rays. It was found that she had two separate biological systems. She had two stomachs that joined as one in the small intestine and two spinal columns that merged into one in the lower abdomen. She also had two hearts. It was concluded that her left head controlled her left front leg and her right head controlled her right front leg. The control of her hind legs was shared. I wonder how that was possible.
In 1977, Emily died. She was only 4 years old. It was a Thursday when Emily’s left neck was jammed in her shell. Her left side died on that day and the very next day, her right side died due to a lack of blood circulation. Till this day, the preserved body of Emily is still at the museum!














