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Turtles cold stunned by the winter storm in Texas take the gutter back into the ocean
Dozens of sea turtles left stunned by a winter storm in Texas were released back into the sea on February 22. Credit: Texas Sealife Center via Storyful
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The claim: Viral image shows a rare blue turtle from the Atlantic Ocean
A social media post is amazing followers with an image of an extraordinary turtle. However, the image does not display a rare turtle species, rather a work of art.
‘It’s not ceramic, but a small turtle that lives in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She was shown to tourists by a Panamanian diver and then released again !!! ”Claims the Facebook message of 11 March.
The message contains an image that pretends to be a small blue, white and yellow turtle in someone’s hand.
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Within hours, the post had more than 500 shares.
Many Facebook users commented on the beauty of the image, while others expressed their suspicion. Despite what some Facebook users believe, the “turtle” was created by a glass artist and does not look like a real species.
US released the poster today for comment.
A glass turtle made by an artist
The photo shows a turtle pendant made by glass artist Paul Katherman. He creates work for Katherman Glass, a family business that makes artwork out of glass.
Katherman posted the images on May 13, 2014 in the Katherman Glass Instagram account.
‘First turtle in the new studio. Available. Send me a message. Flower SeaTurtle, ”he adds to the picture. “$ 90 plus $ 5 shipping.”
Images of similar glass turtles made by Katherman are visible here and here.
In the photo, the hole where the pendant can be strung with a chain is visible on the tortoise’s side.
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Katherman did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.
USA TODAY could not find any evidence to support the poster’s story about a Panamanian diver who found the turtle in the Atlantic Ocean.
Our rating: false
The claim that a viral image shows a rare blue turtle in the Atlantic Ocean is FALSE. The image shows a pendant of glass turtles made by an artist. There is no evidence that this turtle looks like a real species.
Our sources for fact checking:
- Katherman Glass, website visited on March 11
- Paul Katherman, 13 May 2014, Instagram post
- Paul Katherman, 25 July 2016, Instagram Post
- Paul Katherman, October 4, 2015, Instagram post
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