Tortoises (/ˈtɔr.təs.ɨz/) are a family, Testudinidae, of land-dwelling vertebrates in the order Testudines. 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 carapace is fused to both the vertebrae and ribcage, and tortoises are unique amongvertebrates in that the pectoral and pelvic girdles are inside, rather than outside, the ribcage. Tortoises can vary in size from a few centimeters to two meters. They are usually diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive animals Birth[edit] Adult male leopard tortoise, South Africa Young African sulcata tortoise Female tortoises dig nesting burrows in which they lay from one to 30 eggs.[9] Egg-laying typically occurs at night, after …show more content…
[13] The record for the longest-lived vertebrate is exceeded only by one other, a koi named Hanako whose death on July 17, 1977 ended a 226-year life span. The Alipore Zoo in India was the home to Adwaita, which zoo officials claimed was the oldest living animal until its death on March 23, 2006. Adwaita (sometimes spelled with two ds) 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 The brain of a tortoise is extremely small. In the 17th century, Francesco Redi performed an experiment involving removing the brain of a land-tortoise, which then proceeded to live six months. Fresh-water tortoises, when subject to the same experiment, continued similarly, but did not live so long. Redi also cut the head off a tortoise entirely, and it lived for 23 days Diet[edit] Baby tortoise feeding on
The courting ritual begins with the males circling females in an offshore mating ground and then the males approach and bite a female’s neck and if she accepts, they mate; if she does not accept, she swims to the bottom of the mating grounds (Deurmit L 2007). Males have long claws to use during mating because other males try to remove the mating male in order to mate with the female (Deurmit L 2007). Caretta caretta are polygynandrous and breed seasonally in the early summer (Deurmit L 2007). With mating, the females have the ability to store sperm throughout the reproductive season (Sakaoka K et al.). This characteristic developed with “changes in the sperm storage tubules (SSTs) in the oviduct” and allows the females to reproduce more (Sakaoka K et al.). This storage helps to combat climate change because Caretta caretta, as a species, only breed during certain temperatures (Sakaoka K et al.). Female loggerhead turtles have developed sperm storage abilities within mating to combat climate
If puffins are disturbed by humans they will leave their nests and will not come back. This has led to the extinction of puffin colonies in parts of the European coastline.
Female loggerheads generally reproduce between the ages of 17 and 33 after which they can travel thousands of miles to reach what is called their natal beach, the beach where they hatched, to lay their own eggs. The mother will create a nest every 12-17 days using her back legs to dig a deep hole in the sand. These holes tend to be about 3 feet deep. Then she will proceed to lay on average between 100 and 130 eggs, after w...
In the early 1800’s, a new discovery that left paleontologists in awe was the fossil finding of the immeasurable amount of species of reptiles, Ichthyosaurs. Greek for “fish lizards”, these fossils were found all over the world. Because these large aquatic reptiles migrated just as whales do today, paleontologists have had the amazing advantage of collecting fascinating bone fragments throughout the past 177 years. Ichthyosaurs swam the ocean life from about 245 million until about 90 million years ago- approximately the same time dinosaurs ruled the land. The earliest Ichthyosaur fossil findings were in parts of Canada, China, Japan, and possibly Thailand. Countless fossils came from coatings of limestone produced out of the ocean-floor ooze that was predominantly superior at preserving very well facts of the creatures it digested (Perkins 2).
Evolution is a process of living things change slowly in a very long time, so it evolved into a new species more complete body structure. According to the theory of evolution, living now in contrast to living in the past. The ancestors of creatures alive today may experience changes in form and structure. In addition, may experience changes in both the structure and genetics in a very long time, so the shape was totally different from the original and finally generate different types of species present. So the plants and animals living there now was not the first time here on earth, but it comes from living in the past.
In Julie Otsuka’s novel, When the Emperor was Divine, the boy’s emotions are embodied through animals. In mid 1942, the boy and his family are displaced from their home in Berkeley, CA, and relocated to an internment camp. The family is forcibly imprisoned in response to Executive Order 9066, due to their Japanese heritage. The boy’s initial hope and innocence are expressed through a tortoise. The disappearance of these virtues become evident through the animal’s demise. Additionally, images of wild horses display the boy’s desire for freedom and an identity, while their death illustrates his inability to aspire to such things. A tortoise and horses manifest the boy’s internal struggles with his internment. The life and death of the creatures
...emale leatherback turtle and her habits in order to fully understand this critically endangered marine animal.
A Tortoise is a Land dwelling reptile from the Chelonian family that has a large round shell, short feet, and sturdy legs. To keep a perfect temperature, tortoises perform something called estivation or a state of underground dormancy, primarily during summer. Tortoises are some of the longest living animal in the world, living on average over one-hundred and fifty years
Introduction Caretta caretta, otherwise known as the Loggerhead Sea Turtle, is an oceanic turtle that exist throughout the globe. They are circumtropical species (LeBlanc et al. 2014) meaning they are distributed throughout temperate and tropical ocean regions, but most abundant species are found in the United States coastal range. Loggerheads largest nesting aggregations in the Atlantic are found along the southeastern United States coastal range where about 80% of all nesting occurs and 90% of all hatchlings are produced (Abecassis et al. 2013).
“Imagine walking on the beach at night, the sky completely full of stars. Suddenly you see this big dinosaur lumbering out of the sea—a 1,000-pound, 2-meter-long (450-kilogram, 6.5-foot-long) turtle. With incredible concentration, she uses her flippers to dig a huge nest in the sand."
First, here are some basic facts about turtles: turtles are cold-blooded, which means that they cannot raise or lower their body temperature. Their body temperature reflects the temperature of the surrounding air or water. Turtles date back to around two hundred million years ago. Having over forty nine species of turtles, they can live both in water and on land. The top shell, referred to as carapace, of land a turtle are over-grown and makes the ribs wider. Beneath the top shell is the lower shell, referred to as plastron. Both of the shells protect the turtle from other animals and their environment. Thus, turtles have developed long necks and an unusual way of getting air in and out of their lungs. A turtle’s neck forms a tight S-shaped bend, and the curve becomes shallow as the neck extends (Smith and Zim, 18). Also, having modifying their bodies, turtle legs are attached within their ribs. The unique structure of turtles has made them long-lived and unusual specie.
The Leatherback sea turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, is the largest sea turtle species and is highly migrational. They inhabit every ocean and are endangered in all of them (James et al. 2005, Roe et al. 2014). They require warm waters and tropical beaches for nesting and juvenile development, and cold Northern waters for foraging (Eckert 2002). Their diet is dependent on gelatinous zooplankton (Jones et al. 2012). Their major threats include pollution, bycatch, and egg harvesting. Many initiatives have been created to help their recovery including protecting critical beach and adjacent water habitats and stricter fishing regulations. Important nesting beaches in the discussed area are in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Florida (NMFS 1979, NMFS and USFWS 2013). Due to their expansive migrations, international cooperation has been necessary and resulted in international conventions to help regulate international trade of eggs and individuals and protecting ocean habitat between countries (CITES 1973, CBD 1992, IAC 2001, CMS 2011).
The Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) is a semi-aquatic turtle belonging the the Emydidae family. They are titled the Re...
One important and what I feel is the greatest animal studied in zoology is the giraffe also known as Giraffa camelopardalis. The giraffe is the tallest animal averaging seventeen feet. Giraffes usually weigh about 2,500 lbs. Giraffes along with their extremely tall bodies have tongues usually fifteen inches long.
Tenino the wolf lived to be about 11 years old and died of a sinus infection in May of 2001. She never recovered from her scared and hypervigilant state. The Orca Tilikum is still alive but has a life threatening