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 Florida Redbelly Turtle Pseudemys nelsoni
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Turtles are reptiles of the Order Testudines (all living turtles belong to the crown group Chelonia), most of whose body is shielded by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs. Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins are ectothermic Reptiles most of whose Body is shielded by a special The Crown Group is a Catering and event caterer in the United Kingdom. "Chelonia" redirects here It is also the name of the Superorder uniting turtles tortoises and terrapins ( Testudines) with the "proto-turtle" Bones are rigid organs that form part of the Endoskeleton of Vertebrates They function to move support and protect the various organs of the body produce Cartilage is a type of dense Connective tissue. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocytes that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix In Vertebrate Anatomy, ribs ( Latin costae) are the long curved Bones which form the ribcage. The Order Testudines includes both extant (living) and extinct species. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. The earliest known turtles date from 215 million years ago,[1] making turtles one of the oldest reptile groups and a more ancient group than lizards and snakes. The word million In standard English, the -lli- in million is pronounced with an l-sound followed by a Lizards are a large and widespread group of Reptiles of the order Squamata, with nearly 5000 species and ranging across all continents except A snake is an elongate Reptile of the suborder Serpentes Like all reptiles snakes are covered in scales. About 300 species are alive today, and some are highly endangered. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation
Turtles cannot breathe in water, but they can hold their breath for various periods of time.
Like other reptiles, turtles are poikilothermic (or "of varying temperature"[2]). Cold-blooded organisms (called poikilotherms - "of varying temperature" maintain their body temperatures in ways different from Mammals and Birds Like other amniotes (reptiles, dinosaurs, birds, and mammals), they breathe air and don't lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. The amniotes are a group of Tetrapod Vertebrates that include the Synapsida ( Mammals and Mammal-like reptiles and Sauropsida The largest turtles are aquatic.
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Anatomy and morphology
The largest chelonian is the great leatherback sea turtle, which reaches a shell length of 200 cm (80 inches) and can reach a weight of over 900 kg (2,000 lb, or 1 short ton). The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the The leatherback turtle ( Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of all living turtles A centimetre ( American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one hundredth Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass Freshwater turtles are generally smaller, but with the largest species, the Asian softshell turtle Pelochelys cantorii, a few individuals have been reported up to 200 cm or 80 in (Das, 1991). This dwarfs even the better-known alligator snapping turtle, the largest chelonian in North America, which attains a shell length of up to 80 cm (31½ in) and a weight of about 60 kg (170 lb). The Alligator Snapping Turtle ( Macrochelys temminckii) is one of the largest freshwater Turtles in the world
Giant tortoises of the genera Geochelone, Meiolania, and others were relatively widely distributed around the world into prehistoric times, and are known to have existed in North and South America, Australia, and Africa. Geochelone is a Genus of Tortoises Geochelone Tortoises which are also known as geoclelone tortoises or typical tortoises, can Meiolania ("Small roamer" is an Extinct Genus of cryptodire Turtle from the Oligocene to Holocene They became extinct at the same time as the appearance of Man, and it is assumed that humans hunted them for food. The only surviving giant tortoises are on the Seychelles and Galápagos Islands and can grow to over 130 cm (50 in) in length, and weigh about 300 kg (670 lb). Giant tortoises are characteristic reptiles of certain tropical islands Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole [3]
The largest ever chelonian was Archelon ischyros, a Late Cretaceous sea turtle known to have been up to 4. ARCHELON is also a sea-turtle conservation society see ARCHELON the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece Archelon is a The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of 6 m (15 ft) long. [4]
The smallest turtle is the speckled padloper tortoise of South Africa. The Speckled padloper tortoise ( Homopus signatus) is the world's smallest Tortoise. It measures no more than 8 cm (3 in) in length and weighs about 140 g (5 oz). For other uses of the words gram or gramme see Gram (disambiguation. This article is about the unit of mass For the unit of force see Pound-force. Two other species of small turtles are the American mud turtles and musk turtles that live in an area that ranges from Canada to South America. Mud turtle is the common name given to two genera of aquatic Turtles Kinosternon, mud turtles found in North and South Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a The shell length of many species in this group is less than 13 cm (5 in) in length.
Neck folding
Turtles are broken down into two groups, according to how they evolved a solution to the problem of withdrawing their neck into their shell (something the ancestral Proganochelys could not do): the Cryptodira, which can draw their neck in while contracting it under their spine; and the Pleurodira, which contract their neck to the side. Proganochelys is the oldest Turtle species discovered to date known only from fossils found in Germany and Thailand in strata from the Cryptodira is the taxonomic Suborder of Testudines that includes most living Tortoises and Turtles Cryptodira differ from Pleurodira Pleurodira are a group of southern-hemisphere Turtles They are called side-necked turtles, because in order to hide their heads in their shells they
Head
Most turtles that spend most of their life on land have their eyes looking down at objects in front of them. The Common Snapping Turtle ( Chelydra serpentina) is a large freshwater Turtle of the family Chelydridae Saint Lawrence River (in French: fleuve Saint-Laurent; Kahnawáˀkye in Tuscarora, Kaniatarowanenneh meaning big waterway New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Sharm el Sheikh (شرم الشيخ Sharm al-Shaykh) often known simply as "Sharm" is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in Some aquatic turtles, such as snapping turtles and soft-shelled turtles, have eyes closer to the top of the head. These species of turtles can hide from predators in shallow water where they lie entirely submerged except for their eyes and nostrils. Sea turtles possess glands near their eyes that produce salty tears that rid their body of excess salt taken in from the water they drink. Salt is a Dietary mineral composed primarily of Sodium chloride that is essential for Animal life but toxic to most land plants
Turtles are thought to have exceptional night vision due to the unusually large number of rod cells in their retinas. Rod cells, or rods, are Photoreceptor cells in the Retina of the Eye that can function in less intense Light than can the other type Turtles have color vision with a wealth of cone subtypes with sensitivities ranging from the near Ultraviolet (UV A) to Red. Some land turtles have very poor pursuit movement abilities, which are normally reserved for predators that hunt quick moving prey, but carnivorous turtles are able to move their heads quickly to snap. Pursuit movement is the ability of the Eyes to smoothly follow a moving object
Turtles have a rigid beak. Turtles use their jaws to cut and chew food. The jaw is either of the two opposable structures forming or near the entrance to the Mouth. Instead of teeth, the upper and lower jaws of the turtle are covered by horny ridges. Carnivorous turtles usually have knife-sharp ridges for slicing through their prey. Herbivorous turtles have serrated-edged ridges that help them cut through tough plants. Turtles use their tongues to swallow food, but they can't, unlike most reptiles, stick out their tongues to catch food.
Shell
The upper shell of the turtle is called the carapace. A carapace is a dorsal section of an Exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups The lower shell that encases the belly is called the plastron. The plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a Turtle or Tortoise, what one would call the belly similar in composition to the Carapace The carapace and plastron are joined together on the turtle's sides by bony structures called bridges. The inner layer of a turtle's shell is made up of about 60 bones that includes portions of the backbone and the ribs, meaning the turtle cannot crawl out of its shell. In most turtles, the outer layer of the shell is covered by horny scales called scutes that are part of its outer skin, or epidermis. Epidermis is the outermost layer of the Skin. It forms the waterproof protective wrap over the body's surface and is made up of stratified squamous Epithelium with Scutes are made up of a fibrous protein called keratin that also makes up the scales of other reptiles. Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl Keratins are a family of fibrous structural proteins; tough and insoluble they form the hard but nonmineralized structures found in Reptiles Birds These scutes overlap the seams between the shell bones and add strength to the shell. Some turtles do not have horny scutes. For example, the leatherback sea turtle and the soft-shelled turtles have shells covered with leathery skin instead.
The shape of the shell gives helpful clues to how the turtle lives. Most tortoises have a large dome-shaped shell that makes it difficult for predators to crush the shell between their jaws. One of the few exceptions is the African pancake tortoise which has a flat, flexible shell that allows it to hide in rock crevices. The Pancake Tortoise, or Malacochersus tornieri, is a flat-shelled Tortoise most commonly found in Tanzania and Kenya. Most aquatic turtles have flat, streamlined shells which aid in swimming and diving. American snapping turtles and musk turtles have small, cross-shaped plastrons that give them more efficient leg movement for walking along the bottom of ponds and streams. There are two extant Species of the family Chelydridae: Chelydra serpentina, the Common Snapping Turtle, and its larger relative Macrochelys
The color of a turtle's shell may vary. Shells are commonly colored brown, black, or olive green. In some species, shells may have red, orange, yellow, or grey markings and these markings are often spots, lines, or irregular blotches. One of the most colorful turtles is the eastern painted turtle which includes a yellow plastron and a black or olive shell with red markings around the rim. "Painted Turtle" is also the name of an imprint of Wayne State University Press.
Tortoises, being land-based, have rather heavy shells. In contrast, aquatic and soft-shelled turtles have lighter shells that help them avoid sinking in water and swim faster with more agility. These lighter shells have large spaces called fontanelles between the shell bones. References in Pop Culture The dragon in John Gardner's 1971 novel Grendel makes reference to the fontanele as a mark of the universe's progress The shell of a leatherback turtle is extremely light because they lack scutes and contain many fontanelles.
Skin and molting
As mentioned above, the outer layer of the shell is part of the skin, each scute (or plate) on the shell corresponding to a single modified scale. The remainder of the skin is composed of skin with much smaller scales, similar to the skin of other reptiles. Turtles and terrapins do not moult their skins all in one go, as snakes do, but continuously, in small pieces. When kept in aquaria, small sheets of dead skin can be seen in the water (often appearing to be a thin piece of plastic) when it has been sloughed off, often when the animal deliberately rubs itself against a piece of wood or stone. Tortoises also shed skin, but a lot of dead skin is allowed to accumulate into thick knobs and plates that provide protection to parts of the body outside the shell.
By counting the rings formed by the stack of smaller, older scutes on top of the larger, newer ones, it is possible to estimate the age of a turtle, if you know how many scutes are produced in a year. [5] This method is not very accurate, partly because growth rate is not constant, but also because some of the scutes eventually fall away from the shell.
Limbs
Terrestrial tortoises have short, sturdy feet. Tortoises are famous for moving slowly, in part because of their heavy, cumbersome shell but also because of the relatively inefficient sprawling gait that they have, with the legs being bent, as with lizards rather than being straight and directly under the body, as is the case with mammals. Terrestrial locomotion has Evolved as Animals adapted from aquatic to terrestrial environments Lizards are a large and widespread group of Reptiles of the order Squamata, with nearly 5000 species and ranging across all continents except Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands
The amphibious turtles normally have limbs similar to those of tortoises except that the feet are webbed and often have long claws. A claw is a curved pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most Mammals, Birds, and some Reptiles. These turtles swim using all four feet in a way similar to the dog paddle, with the feet on the left and right side of the body alternately providing thrust. The dog paddle or doggy paddle is a simple Swimming stroke It is characterized by the swimmer lying on his chest and moving his hands and legs alternately Large turtles tend to swim less than smaller ones, and the very big species, such as alligator snapping turtles, hardly swim at all, preferring to simply walk along the bottom of the river or lake. As well as webbed feet, turtles also have very long claws, used to help them clamber onto riverbanks and floating logs, upon which they like to bask. Cold-blooded organisms (called poikilotherms - "of varying temperature" maintain their body temperatures in ways different from Mammals and Birds Male turtles tend to have particularly long claws, and these appear to be used to stimulate the female while mating. While most turtles have webbed feet, a few turtles, such as the pig-nose turtles, have true flippers, with the digits being fused into paddles and the claws being relatively small. The Pig-nosed Turtle ( Carettochelys insculpta) also known as the Australasian Pig-nose Turtle Pitted-shelled Turtle Plateless Turtle or Fly River Turtle is a Species These species swim in the same way as sea turtles (see below).
Sea turtles are almost entirely aquatic and instead of feet they have flippers. Sea turtles "fly" through the water, using the up-and-down motion of the front flippers to generate thrust; the back feet are not used for propulsion but may be used as rudders for steering. A rudder is a device used to steer a Ship, Boat, Submarine, Hovercraft, or other conveyance that move through a fluid (generally air or Compared with freshwater turtles, sea turtles have very limited mobility on land, and apart from the dash from the nest to the sea as hatchlings, male sea turtles normally never leave the sea. Females must come back onto land to lay eggs. They move very slowly and laboriously, dragging themselves forwards with their flippers. The back flippers are used to dig the burrow and then fill it back with sand once the eggs have been deposited.
Ecology and life history
Although many turtles spend large amounts of their lives underwater, all turtles and tortoises breathe air, and must surface at regular intervals to refill their lungs. They can also spend much of their lives on dry land. Aquatic respiration in Australian freshwater turtles is currently being studied. Some species have large cloacal cavities that are lined with many finger-like projections. In zoological anatomy a cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the intestinal and urinary tracts of certain animal species These projections, called "papillae", have a rich blood supply, and increase the surface area of the cloaca. The turtles can take up dissolved oxygen from the water using these papillae, in much the same way that fish use gills to respire. Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the A gill is an anatomical structure found in many aquatic organisms
Turtles lay eggs, like other reptiles, which are slightly soft and leathery. In most Birds and Reptiles an egg ( Latin ovum) is the Zygote, resulting from Fertilization of the Ovum. The eggs of the largest species are spherical, while the eggs of the rest are elongated. Their albumen is white and contains a different protein than bird eggs, such that it will not coagulate when cooked. Turtle eggs prepared to eat consist mainly of yolk. In some species, temperature determines whether an egg develops into a male or a female: a higher temperature causes a female, a lower temperature causes a male. Large numbers of eggs are deposited in holes dug into mud or sand. They are then covered and left to incubate by themselves. When the turtles hatch, they squirm their way to the surface and head toward the water. There are no known species in which the mother cares for the young.
Sea turtles lay their eggs on dry, sandy beaches. Immature sea turtles are not cared for by the adults. Turtles can take many years to reach breeding age, and in many cases breed every few years rather than annually.
Researchers have recently discovered a turtle’s organs do not gradually break down or become less efficient over time, unlike most other animals. It was found that the liver, lungs and kidneys of a centenarian turtle are virtually indistinguishable from those of its immature counterpart. This has inspired genetic researchers to begin examining the turtle genome for longevity genes. [6]
Taxonomy
Turtles are divided into three suborders, one of which, the Paracryptodira, is extinct. Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins are ectothermic Reptiles most of whose Body is shielded by a special Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel ( February 16, 1834 — August 9, 1919)also written von Haeckel, was an eminent German Kunstformen der Natur ( German: Art Forms of Nature) is a book of lithographic and Autotype prints by German biologist This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used The Paracryptodira are an Extinct Infraorder of the Testudines, an order of Reptiles which includes Tortoises, Turtles In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. The two extant suborders are the Cryptodira and the Pleurodira. Extant is a term commonly used to refer to Taxa (such as Species, genera or families) that are still in existence (living Cryptodira is the taxonomic Suborder of Testudines that includes most living Tortoises and Turtles Cryptodira differ from Pleurodira Pleurodira are a group of southern-hemisphere Turtles They are called side-necked turtles, because in order to hide their heads in their shells they The Cryptodira is the larger of the two groups and includes all the marine turtles, the terrestrial tortoises, and many of the freshwater turtles. The Pleurodira are sometimes known as the side-necked turtles, a reference to the way they withdraw their heads into their shells. This smaller group consists primarily of various freshwater turtles.
Evolutionary history
The first turtles are believed to have existed in the early Triassic Period of the Mesozoic era, about 200 million years ago. The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 251 to 199 Ma (million years ago The Mesozoic Era is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. Their exact ancestry is disputed. It was believed that they are the only surviving branch of the ancient clade Anapsida, which includes groups such as procolophonoids, millerettids, protorothyrids and pareiasaurs. A clade is a taxonomic group comprising a single Common ancestor and all the descendants of that ancestor An anapsid is an Amniote whose skull does not have openings near the temples While "anapsid reptiles" or "anapsida" are traditionally The Procolophonids - family Procolophonidae (Superfamily Procolophonoidea)- are a group of small reptiles The milleretids is an Extinct group of Anapsids that lived in South Africa during the Upper Permian. Protorothyrididae was a Clade of small lizard-like reptiles possibly the ancestors of Turtles and Tortoises. The Pareiasaurs - family Pareiasauridae - are a group of medium-sized to large herbivorous Anapsid Reptiles that flourished during the All anapsid skulls lack a temporal opening, while all other extant amniotes have temporal openings (although in mammals the hole has become the zygomatic arch). The amniotes are a group of Tetrapod Vertebrates that include the Synapsida ( Mammals and Mammal-like reptiles and Sauropsida Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands The zygomatic arch is formed by the Zygomatic process of temporal bone (a bone extending forward from the side of the Skull, over the opening of the ear and the temporal The millerettids, protorothyrids and pareiasaurs became extinct in the late Permian period, and the procolophonoids during the Triassic. The Permian is a geologic period and system that extends from 299 [7]
However, it was recently suggested that the anapsid-like turtle skull may be due to reversion rather than to anapsid descent. More recent phylogenetic studies with this in mind placed turtles firmly within diapsids, slightly closer to Squamata than to Archosauria. Diapsids ("two arches" are a group of Reptiles that developed two holes ( Temporal fenestra) in each side of their Skulls about 300 Million Squamata (scaled reptiles is the largest recent order of Reptiles including Lizards and Snakes Members of the order are distinguished by Archosaurs ( Greek for 'ruling lizards' are a group of Diapsid Reptiles represented by Modern birds and Crocodilians This group also [8] All molecular studies have strongly upheld this new phylogeny, though some place turtles closer to Archosauria. In Chemistry, a molecule is defined as a sufficiently stable electrically neutral group of at least two Atoms in a definite arrangement held together by [9] Re-analysis of prior phylogenies suggests that they classified turtles as anapsids both because they assumed this classification (most of them studying what sort of anapsid turtles are) and because they did not sample fossil and extant taxa broadly enough for constructing the cladogram. Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry As of 2003, the consensus is that Testudines diverged from other diapsids between 200 and 279 million years ago. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. [10]
The earliest known turtle is proganochelys, though this species already had many advanced turtle traits, and thus probably had many millions of years of preceding "turtle" evolution and species in its ancestry. Proganochelys is the oldest Turtle species discovered to date known only from fossils found in Germany and Thailand in strata from the It did lack the ability to pull its head into its shell (and it had a long neck), and had a long, spiked tail ending in a club, implying an ancestry occupying a similar niche to the ankylosaurs (though, presumably, only parallel evolution). Ankylosaurus (ˌæŋkɪloʊˈsɔrəs which means ' rigid lizard' is a Genus of Ankylosaurid Dinosaur, containing one Species Parallel evolution is the independent evolution of similar traits starting from a similar ancestral condition due to similar environments or other evolutionary pressures
Turtle, tortoise or terrapin?
Although the word "turtle" is widely used to describe all members of the order Testudines, it is also common to see certain members described as terrapins, tortoises or sea turtles as well. Precisely how these alternative names are used, if at all, depends on the type of English being used.
- British English normally describes these reptiles as turtles if they live in the sea; terrapins if they live in fresh or brackish water; or tortoises if they live on land. British English or UK English ( BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the However, there are exceptions to this where American or Australian common names are in wide use, as with the Fly River turtle. The Pig-nosed Turtle ( Carettochelys insculpta) also known as the Australasian Pig-nose Turtle Pitted-shelled Turtle Plateless Turtle or Fly River Turtle is a Species
- American English tends to use the word turtle for all species regardless of habitat, although tortoise may be used as a more precise term for any land-dwelling species. Phonology North American English regional phonology In many ways compared to English English, North American English is conservative in its Phonology. Oceanic species may be more specifically referred to as sea turtles. The name "terrapin" is strictly reserved for the brackish water diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin; the word terrapin in this case being derived from the Algonquian word for this animal. The Diamondback terrapin ( Malaclemys terrapin) is a Species of Turtle native to the brackish coastal Swamps of the eastern and The Algonquian (also Algonkian, and pronounced both and) languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic [2]
- Australian English uses turtle for both the marine and freshwater species but tortoise for the terrestrial species. Australian English ( AuE, AusE, en-AU) is the form of the English language used in Australia.
To avoid confusion, the word chelonian is popular among veterinarians, scientists, and conservationists working with these animals as a catch-all name for any member of the order Testudines. It is based on the Ancient Greek word χελώνη (chelone, modern Greek χελώνα), meaning tortoise. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c
Turtles as pets
Turtles, particularly small terrestrial and freshwater turtles, are commonly kept as pets. Among the most popular are Russian Tortoises, Greek spur-thighed tortoises and red-ear sliders (or terrapin). The Russian Tortoise, Horsfield's Tortoise or Central Asian Tortoise ( Testudo horsfieldii syn The Spur-thighed Tortoise is one of four European members of the Testudinidae family of Tortoises The other members of the family are Hermann's Tortoise Trachemys scripta includes the subspecies T s elegans, commonly known as the Red-eared Slider. [11]
See also
- Addyaita: a giant turtle of Aldabra. Adwaita (meaning "one and only" in Sanskrit) (c 1750 – 23 March 2006) was the name of a male Aldabra Giant Tortoise in Aldabra is a raised Coral Atoll in the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that form part of the Seychelles. It was reportedly 250 years old when it died at Kolkata Zoo on March 23, 2006. Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- Araripemys arturi
- List of Testudines families
- Pet turtles
- Red-eared slider: most common pet turtle
- Sea Turtles
- Turtle racing
- Cultural depictions of turtles and tortoises
- Turtle soup
Further reading
- Iskandar, DT (2000). Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of Testudines families shows all extant families The Red-eared Sliders ( Trachemys scripta elegans) is a semi-aquatic Turtle ( Terrapin) belonging to the family Emydidae. Sea turtles ( Superfamily Chelonioidea) are Turtles found in all the world's oceans except the Arctic Ocean. Turtle racing is a popular event in the Central United States which is usually held at County fairs or Picnics, in which Turtles are placed in Turtles and tortoises are frequently depicted in popular culture as easygoing patient and wise creatures snapping turtles aside Turtle soup is a Soup made from the flesh of the Turtle, often the Green turtle or especially in the United States, the snapping turtle Turtles and Crocodiles of Insular Southeast Asia and New Guinea. ITB, Bandung.
- Pritchard, Pether C H (1979). Encyclopedia of Turtles. T. F. H. Publications.
References
- ^ ARCHELON- Enchanted Learning Software
- ^ Reptile blood isn't necessarily cold, as reptiles sun themselves and take other measures to stay warm.
- ^ CTTC's Turtle Trivia
- ^ Marine Turtles
- ^ [1]
- ^ All but Ageless, Turtles Face Their Biggest Threat: Humans
- ^ Introduction to Procolophonoidea
- ^ Rieppel, O. , and DeBraga, M. (1996). "Turtles as diapsid reptiles. " Nature, 384: 453-455.
- ^ Zardoya, R. , and Meyer, A. (1998). "Complete mitochondrial genome suggests diapsid affinities of turtles. " Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 95(24): 14226-14231.
- ^ Integrating Reptilian Herpesviruses into the Family Herpesviridae
- ^ David Alderton (1986). An Interpret Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians, Salamander Books Ltd. , London & New York.
External links
- UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology
- Chelonian studbook Collection and display of the weights/sizes of captive turtles
- John M. Legler & Arthur Georges, Biogeography and Phylogeny of the Chelonia (taxonomy, maps)
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