Tortoise (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain everything about turtles, their diet, habitat and other characteristics. Also, differences between sea and land turtles.

What is a turtle?

Turtles or chelonians are a group of reptiles of aquatic and terrestrial habitat. Its main characteristic is having a strong shell which protects the internal organs and covers the entire torso of the animal. Designed as a sturdy box and made of bone and cartilage, this shell grows with the animal and forms part of its own spinal column, so it can take refuge inside.

This order of reptiles is known zoologically as testudines. It is estimated that they arose 250 million years ago in the Triassic period of the Mesozoic era. This means that they are the oldest reptiles that still inhabit the Earth, adapted to different habitats and living particularly long lives.

There are around 356 different species of turtles on all continents (except Antarctica), with very diverse sizes, proportions, diets and habitats. Many of them are in danger of extinction, partly due to hunting by humans, who devour their eggs and use their shells decoratively (in fact, before the invention of plastic, they were used to obtain the tortoiseshell for eyeglass frames. ), and partly due to the contamination of their habitats.

Human beings have been attracted to turtles since ancient times. Although there are very few domestic species, these animals tend to abound in the mythological imagination of very diverse cultures, generally as a symbol of ancestral forces and knowledge.

In fact, in Hindu mythology, the entire world was thought to be a disk supported by four large elephants, which in turn stood on the shell of a tortoise.

General characteristics of turtles

turtle characteristics beak mouth — The beak of turtles is sharp and sometimes toothed.

Turtles are characterized, broadly speaking, by the following:

They are reptiles, that is, cold-blooded vertebrates and oviparous reproduction whose bodies consist of a large shell, a head, a small tail and four limbs, which are legs in land turtles and fins in aquatic ones.
They lack teeth in the jaw, instead They have a leathery keratin beak sharp and sometimes jagged.
They have good vision, which they prioritize over the rest of their senses, although they also often use smell and hearing. have a superior nervous system like all vertebrate animals, with a brain and a spinal cord.
With the exception of underwater aquatic turtles, they are slow-paced and not very agile animals. Their slow metabolisms provide them with a long life reaching a century of life in some species.
Accustomed to crawling or swimming, are never usually lying on their shells and especially land turtles have enormous difficulty turning around.

water turtles

Aquatic turtles, freshwater or saltwater, represent a significant percentage of the world's turtle species. They inhabit the oceans or small wells and lakes.

They have adapted their bodies to submerged life, so have legs with interdigital membranes or directly fins which allow them to swim comfortably, without becoming useless if they have to return to land.

Besides, have a smooth and hydrodynamic shell. Depending on the species, they can hold their breath for a very long time, which allows them to feed without problems underwater.

land turtles

land turtles are particularly slow animals and calm, with voluminous and rough shells, which can vary greatly in weight, length and color.

It is usual to find them outdoors where they expose themselves to the sun to warm their cold blood and in general they have a patient temperament. However, there are also particularly aggressive and territorial species.

Turtle feeding

The diet of turtles depends largely on their habitat. Those suitable for terrestrial life tend to be mostly herbivores with an almost exclusive diet of leaves, stems, roots and fruits, although other species are omnivorous and they eat basically whatever they can, from small mollusks, insects and worms to carrion.

Something similar happens with aquatic species, capable of eating everything from coral, which supplies them with important nutrients such as calcium, to algae, fish, squid, octopuses and small crustaceans.

Turtle Habitat

Over the centuries, turtles have adapted very well to almost all environments of the earth's surface, as well as marine and freshwater life. The greatest diversity of species is found in Southeast Asia and North America. In both cases, the favorite environment seems to be the lake either in small wells, or extensive rivers and lakes.

Generally, each species of turtle is endemic to its location that is, it does not occur anywhere else. In addition, there are species typical of forests, deserts, plains or volcanic islands, such as the Galapagos tortoises that inspired Charles Darwin, of enormous size and capable of living for more than one hundred years.

Turtle reproduction

Like many other reptiles, turtles mate according to seasonal patterns. Turtles do not take care of their offspring, but rather lay a large number of eggs and bet on the survival of a low percentage of the hatchlings.

The fertilized females deposit eggs of different shapes and textures, always on the ground. Even sea turtles, after mating, migrate hundreds or thousands of kilometers to lay their eggs on land, digging holes and then burying them with enormous effort. From there the small turtles then leave in a mad dash back towards the water.

The turtle shell

shell turtle — The shell has a layer of skin, another of keratin and another of bone.

Turtle shells are made of strong biological materials, such as bone and cartilage, but its shape, resistance and coloration can vary enormously from one species to another.

In general, the shell consists of three regions: a covering of leather-like skin, covering a set of tough plates of keratin (the same material their beaks are made of), similar to the scales of other reptiles, and resting on a series of bone shields.

Furthermore, the shell consists of two different parts:

The backrest Which occupies the upper region or back of the animal, made up of five rows of plates, arranged in concentric regions of extreme hardness.
The plastron Which is the region of the belly and chest of the animal, that is, the one that faces the ground, also called “plaster”, and which is usually pale in color, smooth and less resistant.

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