Two Headed Turtle

"Two headed turtle found in China"
"Rare two headed turtle spotted in South Africa"
"Two headed turtle stolen from a pet store"
"School girl discovers a unique two headed turtle in a mud water"....

Many of us must have seen and heard such news appear in daily newspapers or on television screens. While we all have read about multi-headed monsters and animals in fiction stories and novels (remember fluffy, the three headed dog in Harry Potter), the sight of a two headed turtle is fascinating. It is not very uncommon to find two headed animals and in the case of reptiles, especially snakes and turtles, they occur more frequently in comparison to other species of animals. The excitement of watching two head turtles or other animals makes people crazy and the moment they are discovered in some place, they make a breaking news in the media. Not surprising that many such types of two headed animals are preserved in museums and stores for the public to see.

Two Headed Turtles: The Result of Improper Genetic Mutation
In the scientific community, two headed animals is a case of serious study and medically, the condition of having multiple heads is known as Polycephaly. The condition of having two heads is known as bicephaly or dicephaly. According to scientists, the two headed turtles result from the improper genetic mutation that occurs during the embryonic stage. In the polycephaly animals, each head has its own brain and due to some coordination and control the various limbs and organs work in tandem to carry out the daily activities. In some cases, the coordination between the two heads have found to be very bad and the animals have been seen walking disoriented. Basically, in a two headed turtle, the embryo, during its growth stage, begins to split into two. But while in process it fails to do so and this leads to two heads on the same body. A rare phenomena, such abnormalities are a result of incomplete splitting of the embryos and they are seen in fish, rats, snakes, cows and even in us, humans. Siamese or conjoined twins, are the result of similar genetic mutation. While there are issues of survival among such animals, some biologists and wildlife conservatives believe that with proper care and support, a two headed animal can reach the maturity age. Researchers say that two headed turtles have better control over their body and they respond more positively than two headed snakes, who can even attempt to attack each other! There have been cases of two headed snakes trying to swallow each other! Many two-headed turtles have been reported to live for a relatively longer time and have been kept in museums. Some scientists say that both the turtle heads have just one digestive system and one heart but some cases have been found where a two headed turtle has been found to have two separate bodies. For example, a two headed snapping turtle named Emily, that was kept in the Science Museum of Minnesota in 1973, had two biological systems. Fortunately, its body is still preserved in the museum for display. Being an object of curiosity, one can find a such turtles for sale outside pet stores.

As biologists discover more about two head turtles, we will get to know some amazing facts! Born due to the deviation of some genes, these animals, compel us to believe that the mysteries of Nature are fabulous and science can only look towards it with awe, every time it comes across such miracles of Nature!