Tortoise

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Tortoises
Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) from Aldabra atoll in the Seychelles.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Testudines Suborder: Cryptodira Superfamily: Testudinoidea Family: Testudinidae
Genera
Chersina Cylindraspis(extinct) Dipsochelys Furculachelys Geochelone Gopherus Homopus Indotestudo Kinixys Malacochersus Manouria Psammobates Pyxis Testudo

A tortoise is a land-dwelling reptile of the order Testudines.

Like their aquatic cousins, the turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise has both an endoskeleton and an exoskeleton. Tortoises can vary in size from a few centimetres to two meters. Most land tortoises are herbivorous in the wild. The carapace can help indicate the age of the tortoise by the number of concentric rings, much like the cross-section of a tree. Males tend to have a longer, protruding neck plate than their female counterparts.

Tortoises tend to be diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive and shy.

Most land based tortoises are herbivores, feeding on grazing grasses, weeds, leafy greens, flowers, and certain fruits. Their main diet consists of alfalfa, clover, dandelions, and leafy weeds.

Female tortoises dig and lay about a dozen eggs in burrows or holes they dig. Hatchlings take approximately 90-120 days to incubate from ping-pong-ball sized eggs. The hatchlings break out of their shells with a front beak. Most hatchlings are born with an embryonic egg sac, serving as a source of food for the first couple of days. They are capable of eating solid food in about 3-7 days.

The giant tortoises of the Galápagos Islands helped Charles Darwin formulate his theory of evolution, since the isolated populations on the different islands, although descended from a common ancestor, had diverged to different forms.

The first turtles already existed in the era of the dinosaurs, some 300 million years ago. Turtles and tortoises are the only surviving branch of the even more ancient clade Anapsida, which includes groups such as the procolophonoids, millerettids and pareiasaurs. Most of the anapsids became extinct in the late Permian period, with the exception of the procolophonoids and the precursors of the testudines (turtles and tortoises).

While the Oxford English Dictionary refers to a tortoise as a "slow-moving land reptile with a scaly or leathery domed shell into which it can retract its head and legs" [1], in American English it is not uncommon for such animals to be referred to incorrectly as turtle.

Contents 1 Lifespan 2 Partial species list 3 Further reading 4 See also 5 External links 6 Gallery

[edit] Lifespan

Tortoises generally have lifespans comparable with those of human beings, and some individuals are known to have lived longer than 150 years. Because of this, they symbolize longevity in some cultures, such as China. The oldest tortoise ever recorded, indeed the oldest individual animal ever recorded, was Tui Malila, who was presented to the Tongan royal family by the British explorer Captain Cook shortly after its birth in 1777. Tui Malila remained in the care of the Tongan royal family until its death by natural causes on May 19, 1965. This means that upon its death, Tui Malila was 188 years old [2].

The Alipore Zoo in India was the home to Adwaitya, which zoo officials claimed was the oldest living animal until its death on March 23, 2006. Adwaitya (sometimes spelled with two d's) was an Aldabra Giant Tortoise brought to India by Lord Wellesley who handed it over to the Alipur Zoological Gardens in 1875 when the zoo was set up. Zoo officials state they have documentation showing that Adwaitya was at least 130 years old, but claim that he was over 250 years old (although this has not been scientifically verified). Adwaitya was said to be the pet of Robert Clive 1.

Harriet, a resident at the Australia Zoo in Queensland, was apocryphally thought to have been brought to England by Charles Darwin aboard the Beagle. Harriet died on June 23, 2006, just shy of her 176th birthday.

[edit] Partial species list

• Chersina
  • Chersina angulata, Bowsprit Tortoise
• Dipsochelys
  • Dipsochelys abrupta (Extinct)
  • Dipsochelys arnoldi, Arnold's Giant Tortoise,
  • Dipsochelys daudinii (Extinct)
  • Dipsochelys dussumieri, Aldabra Giant Tortoise
  • Dipsochelys grandidieri (Extinct)
  • Dipsochelys hololissa, Seychelles giant tortoise
• Furculachelys
  • Furculachelys nabeulensis, Tunisian Spur-thigh Tortoise
• Geochelone
  • Geochelone carbonaria, Red-Footed Tortoise
  • Geochelone chilensis, Chaco Tortoise
  • Geochelone denticulata, Yellow-Footed Tortoise
  • Geochelone elegans, Indian Star Tortoise
  • Geochelone nigra, Galápagos Giant Tortoise
  • Geochelone pardalis, Leopard Tortoise
  • Geochelone platynota, Burmese Star Tortoise
  • Geochelone radiata, Radiated Tortoise
  • Geochelone sulcata, African Spurred Tortoise (Sulcata Tortoise)
  • Geochelone yniphora, Angulated Tortoise
• Gopherus
  • Gopherus agassizii, Desert Tortoise
  • Gopherus berlandieri, Texas Tortoise
  • Gopherus flavomarginatus, Bolson Tortoise
  • Gopherus polyphemus, Gopher Tortoise
• Homopus
  • Homopus aerolatus, Parrot-Beaked Cape Tortoise
  • Homopus boulengeri, Boulenger's Cape Tortoise
  • Homopus femoralis, Karroo Cape Tortoise
  • Homopus signatus, Speckled Cape Tortoise
  • Homopus bergeri, Berger's Cape Tortoise
• Indotestudo
  • Indotestudo elongata, Elongated Tortoise
  • Indotestudo forsteni, Travancore Tortoise
• Kinixys
  • Kinixys belliana, Bell's Hinge-Backed Tortoise
  • Kinixys erosa, Serrated Hinge-Backed Tortoise
  • Kinixys homeana, Home's Hinge-Backed Tortoise
  • Kinixys natalensis, Natal Hinge-Backed Tortoise
  • Kinixys spekii
• Malacochersus
  • Malacochersus tornieri, Pancake Tortoise
• Manouria
  • Manouria emys, Brown Tortoise (Mountain Tortoise)
  • Manouria impressa, Impressed Tortoise
• Psammobates
  • Psammobates geometricus, Geometric Tortoise
  • Psammobates oculiferus, Serrated Star Tortoise
  • Psammobates tentorius, African Tent Tortoise
• Pyxis
  • Pyxis arachnoides, Madagascan Spider Tortoise
  • Pyxis planicauda, Madagascan Flat-Tailed Tortoise
• Testudo
  • Testudo atlas, Atlas tortoise, Colossochelys (Extinct)
  • Testudo graeca, Greek Tortoise (Spur-Thighed Tortoise)
  • Testudo hermanni, Herman's Tortoise
  • Testudo horsfieldii, Russian Tortoise (Horsfield's Tortoise, or Central Asian Tortoise)
  • Testudo kleinmanni, Egyptian Tortoise
  • Testudo werneri, Negev Tortoise
  • Testudo marginata, Marginated Tortoise
  • Testudo tabulata, Jabuti

[edit] Further reading

• Chambers, Paul. A Sheltered Life: The Unexpected History of the Giant Tortoise. John Murray (Publishers), London. 2004. ISBN 0-7195-6528-6.
• Gerlach, Justin. Giant Tortoises of the Indian Ocean. Chimiara publishers, Frankfurt. 2004

[edit] See also

• Turtles and tortoises in popular culture

[edit] External links

• Gulf Coast Turtle and Tortoise Society
• Tortoise World - Several Types of Tortoises
• Chelonia: Conservation and Care of Turtles.
• Infotortuga

[edit] Gallery

A baby Testudo marginata emerges from its shell

Testudo graeca ibera,Testudo hermanni boettgeri,Testudo hermanni hermanni,Testudo marginata sarda

A young (3.5 years) Sulcata Tortoise Geochelone sulcata

Aldabra Giant Tortoise Geochelone gigantea