Turtle: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 17:20, 28 January 2006

Template:Taxobox begin Template:Taxobox image Template:Taxobox begin placement Template:Taxobox regnum entry Template:Taxobox phylum entry Template:Taxobox classis entry Template:Taxobox ordo entry
Linnaeus, 1758 Template:Taxobox end placement Template:Taxobox section subdivision See text Template:Taxobox end 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 cartilagenous shell developed from their ribs. The term turtle is usually used for the aquatic species, though aquatic fresh water turtles are also called terrapins. The term is sometimes used (esp. in North America) to refer to all members of the order, including tortoises, which are predominantly land-based. The order of Testudines includes both extant (living) and extinct species. About 300 species are alive today. Some species of turtles are highly endangered.

Description

All turtles have a protective shell around their bodies. The top part of the shell is called the carapace, the bottom is called the plastron, and the two are connected by a bridge.

Sea turtles grow to large sizes and live in the oceans in the temperate and tropical regions of Earth. Pond turtles (terrapins) are usually much smaller, while some land terrapins (tortoises) are as large as sea turtles. The sizes of turtles vary from a few centimetres (forest and jungle species) to two meters (the leatherback turtle and the Galapagos tortoise).

Turtles generally live a long time; some individuals are known to have lived longer than 150 years. The oldest tortoise on record is Tui Malila, known to have lived at least 188 years.

Sea turtles lay their eggs on dry sandy beaches. 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 do bird eggs, such that it will not coagulate when cooked. Turtle eggs prepared to eat consist mainly of yolk. In some species, temperature of the egg during development determines whether an egg develops into a male or a female: a higher temperature causes a female, a lower temperature causes a male.

Although they spend large proportions of their lives underwater, turtles are air-breathing reptiles, and must surface at regular intervals to refill their lungs with fresh air. However, aquatic respiration in Australian freshwater turtles is currently being studied. Some species have large cloacal cavities lined with many finger-like projections. 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 through these papillae, in much the same way that fish use gills.

Turtles have a gelatinous substance in their upper and lower shell, called calipash and calipee respectively, the calipash being of a dull greenish and the calipee of a light yellow color.

Evolution

The first turtles are believed to have existed in the era of the dinosaurs, 200 million years ago. 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. All Anapsid skulls lack a temporal opening, while all other extant amniotes have temporal openings (although in mammals the hole has become the zygoid arch). Most anapsids became extinct in the late Permian period, except procolophonoids and possibly the precursors of the testudines (turtles).

However, it was recently suggested that the Anapsid-like turtle skull may be due to convergent evolution 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. All molecular studies have strongly upheld this new phylogeny, though some place turtles closer to Archosauria. 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 were broadly enough for constructing the cladogram. While the issue is far from resolved, most scientists now lean towards a Diapsid origin for turtles.

Order Testudines - Turtles

File:Unidentified turtle.JPG

Gulf Coast Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina major (Emydidae)

File:TurtleInPond.jpg

A slider of genus Trachemys

File:Mazunte turtle.jpg

File:Leatherback.jpg

A Leatherback Sea Turtle. Photo credit: NOAA

Suborder Cryptodira

Family Chelydridae (Snapping Turtles)

Superfamily Testudinoidea

Family Testudinidae (Tortoises)
Family Bataguridae (Asian River Turtles, Leaf and Roofed Turtles, Asian Box Turtles)
Family Emydidae (Pond Turtles/Box and Water Turtles)

Superfamily Trionychoidea

Family Carettochelyidae (Pignose Turtles)
Family Trionychidae (Softshell Turtles)

Superfamily Kinosternoidea

Family Dermatemydidae (River Turtles)
Family Kinosternidae (Mud and Musk Turtles)
Family Platysternidae (Big-headed Turtles)

Superfamily Chelonioidea

Family Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Family Dermochelyidae (Leatherback Turtles)

Suborder Pleurodira

Family Chelidae (Austro-American Sideneck Turtles)

Superfamily Pelomedusoidea

Family Pelomedusidae (Afro-American Sideneck Turtles)
Family Podocnemididae (Madagascan Big-headed and American Sideneck River Turtles)

Turtles in pop culture

Turtles are depicted in Western culture as, snapping turtles aside, easygoing and patient creatures.

One avatar of Vishnu is said to be the giant turtle Kurma.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are comic-book characters whose adventures have been adapted for TV and film.
In Japanese science-fiction, a fire-breathing flying turtle named Gamera is the star of his own series of giant monster movies.
The ornate box turtle is the state reptile of Kansas. It is ironic that turtles have been banned as classroom pets in Kansas and many other states in the United States.
In the books by Terry Pratchett, the Discworld rests on the back of the gigantic star-turtle Great A'Tuin.
Bertrand Russell, giving a lecture on astronomy, described how the earth orbits the sun which orbits and the movement of the sun about the galaxy. When he had finished, an old lady stood up and protested: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant turtle." Russell smiled and asked gently, "What is the turtle standing on?" "You're very clever, young man, very clever," said the woman. "But it's turtles all the way down."
The mascot of the University of Maryland, College Park is the diamondback terrapin, which is also the state reptile of Maryland.
Koopas in the Mario games are turtles.
The mascot of the Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine is a turtle named Ptolemy.
The Turtle (also known as Maturin) appears in a number of Stephen King's novels, including It, and The Dark Tower series. It is a guardian of the beam, and a nursery rhyme from Roland's world opens with "See the turtle of enormous girth, on his shell he holds the Earth".
The Grateful Dead recorded a song entitled "Terrapin Station", which appears on the album of the same name and was a steady inclusion in their live repertoire.
Son Goku from Dragon Ball uses "Turtle Style" Martial Arts, the "Kame-Hame-Ha" itself translates to Turtle Destruction Wave.
In the anime and manga of Love Hina, a flying sea turtle named Tama-Chan is owned by the character Mutsumi Otohime.
In the 2003 Disney-Pixar film Finding Nemo there is a sea turtle character named Crush, known for his "surfer dude" philosophies. His son "Squirt" later becomes an exchange student at Nemo's school.
In 1996, Harry Connick, Jr. released an album called "Star Turtle."
In 2002, Dana Carvey dressed as a turtle and asked, "Am I not turtly enough for the turtle club?" in "The Master of Disguise."
A 1968 recording by guitarist John Fahey is called "The Voice of the Turtle". This is a reference to Song of Solomon 2:12 in an old translation which actually refers to the turtle-dove, but Fahey probably misread it deliberately because turtles were very important to him.
Syd Barret recorded a song named "Terrapin" for his album The Madcap Laughs in 1970. The song was later covered, live, by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.
Rock singer Sting recorded an album entitled The Dream of the Blue Turtles.
The Turtles, Tortoise, and Beatnik Turtle are musical groups.
the mascot of the KAME project is that of a sea turtle.

External links

Internationale Schildkröten Vereinigung - German language page
UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology
Turtle Trax: Excellent marine turtle site
California Turtle and Tortoise Club: Informative and entertaining in equal measure
Turtle Times: A turtle search engine.
Gulf Coast Turtle and Tortoise Society: Care Information, Species Descriptions, and More.
Turtles of the World: Extensive informatie on all known turtles, tortoises and terrapins, including key and quiz.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 See text
 {{Taxobox_end}}
-'''Turtles''' are [[reptile]]s of the order '''Testicles''' (all living turtles belong to the crown group '''Chloroform'''), most of whose body is shielded by a special [[bone|bony]] or [[cartilage|cartilagenous]] [[animal shell|shell]] developed from their [[nose hair]]s.  The term '''turtle''' is usually used for the aquatic [[species]], though aquatic [[fresh water]] turtles are also called '''terrapins'''.  The term is sometimes used ''(esp. in [[North America]])'' to refer to all members of the order, including [[tortoise]]s, which are predominantly land-based.  The order of Testudines includes both extant (living) and [[extinct]] species.  About 3 species are alive today.  Some species of turtles are really tasty.
+'''Turtles''' are [[reptile]]s of the order '''Testudines''' (all living turtles belong to the crown group '''Chelonia'''), most of whose body is shielded by a special [[bone|bony]] or [[cartilage|cartilagenous]] [[animal shell|shell]] developed from their [[rib]]s.  The term '''turtle''' is usually used for the aquatic [[species]], though aquatic [[fresh water]] turtles are also called '''terrapins'''.  The term is sometimes used ''(esp. in [[North America]])'' to refer to all members of the order, including [[tortoise]]s, which are predominantly land-based.  The order of Testudines includes both extant (living) and [[extinct]] species.  About 300 species are alive today.  Some species of turtles are highly [[endangered species|endangered]].
 ==Description==
-All  turtles have a protective shell around their bodies.  The top part of the shell is called the [[carapace]], the bottom is called the [[plastron]], and the two are connected by a toe.
+All  turtles have a protective shell around their bodies.  The top part of the shell is called the [[carapace]], the bottom is called the [[plastron]], and the two are connected by a bridge.
-[[Sea turtle]]s grow to large sizes and live in the back yards in the [[temperate]] and [[tropical]] regions of Mars. [[Pond]] turtles (terrapins) are usually much smaller, while some land terrapins (tortoises) are as large as sea turtles.  The sizes of turtles vary from a few [[centimetre]]s ([[forest]] and [[jungle]] species) to two [[meter]]s (the [[leatherback turtle]] and the [[Galapagos tortoise]]).
+[[Sea turtle]]s grow to large sizes and live in the [[ocean]]s in the [[temperate]] and [[tropical]] regions of [[Earth]].  [[Pond]] turtles (terrapins) are usually much smaller, while some land terrapins (tortoises) are as large as sea turtles.  The sizes of turtles vary from a few [[centimetre]]s ([[forest]] and [[jungle]] species) to two [[meter]]s (the [[leatherback turtle]] and the [[Galapagos tortoise]]).
-Turtles generally live a long time; some individuals are known to have lived longer than 600 [[year]]s.  The oldest tortoise on record is [[Tui Malila]], known to have lived at least 623 years.
+Turtles generally live a long time; some individuals are known to have lived longer than 150 [[year]]s.  The oldest tortoise on record is [[Tui Malila]], known to have lived at least 188 years.
-Sea turtles lay their [[egg (biology)|eggs]] on moldy [[sand]]y [[beach]]es.  The eggs of the largest species are [[sphere|spherical]], while the eggs of the rest are elongated.  Their [[albumen]] is [[white]] and contains a different [[protein]] than do [[bird]] eggs, such that it will not [[coagulation|coagulate]] when cooked.  Turtle eggs prepared to eat consist mainly of [[yolk]].  In some species, temperature of the egg during development determines whether an egg develops into a goose or a monkey: a higher temperature causes a goose, a lower temperature causes a monkey.
+Sea turtles lay their [[egg (biology)|eggs]] on dry [[sand]]y [[beach]]es.  The eggs of the largest species are [[sphere|spherical]], while the eggs of the rest are elongated.  Their [[albumen]] is [[white]] and contains a different [[protein]] than do [[bird]] eggs, such that it will not [[coagulation|coagulate]] when cooked.  Turtle eggs prepared to eat consist mainly of [[yolk]].  In some species, temperature of the egg during development determines whether an egg develops into a [[male]] or a [[female]]: a higher temperature causes a female, a lower temperature causes a male.
-Although they spend large proportions of their lives underwater, turtles are air-breathing reptiles, and must surface at regular intervals to refill their eyess with fresh carbon monoxide. However, aquatic [[respiration]] in [[Australia]]n freshwater turtles is currently being studied.  Some species have large [[cloaca|cloacal cavities]] lined with many finger-like projections.  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 through these papillae, in much the same way that [[fish]] use [[gills]].
+Although they spend large proportions of their lives underwater, turtles are air-breathing reptiles, and must surface at regular intervals to refill their [[lung]]s with fresh [[air]].  However, aquatic [[respiration]] in [[Australia]]n freshwater turtles is currently being studied.  Some species have large [[cloaca|cloacal cavities]] lined with many finger-like projections.  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 through these papillae, in much the same way that [[fish]] use [[gills]].
 Turtles have a gelatinous substance in their upper and lower shell, called '''calipash''' and '''calipee''' respectively, the calipash being of a dull greenish and the calipee of a light yellow color.
+== Evolution ==
-History
-The first turtles are believed to have existed in the era of the [[dinosaur]]s, 1900 million years ago.  Their exact ancestry is of a sea ameba named fred.  It was believed that they are the only surviving branch of the ancient [[clade]] [[Anapsida]], which includes groups such as [[procolophonoid]]s, [[millerettid]]s, [[protorothyrids]] and [[pareiasaur]]s.  All Anapsid skulls lack a temporal opening, while all other extant [[amniote]]s have temporal openings (although in [[Mammalia|mammals]] the hole has become the [[zygoid arch]]).  Most anapsids became extinct in the late [[Permian]] period, except procolophonoids and possibly the precursors of the testudines (turtles).
+The first turtles are believed to have existed in the era of the [[dinosaur]]s, 200 million years ago.  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 [[procolophonoid]]s, [[millerettid]]s, [[protorothyrids]] and [[pareiasaur]]s.  All Anapsid skulls lack a temporal opening, while all other extant [[amniote]]s have temporal openings (although in [[Mammalia|mammals]] the hole has become the [[zygoid arch]]).  Most anapsids became extinct in the late [[Permian]] period, except procolophonoids and possibly the precursors of the testudines (turtles).
 However, it was recently suggested that the Anapsid-like turtle skull may be due to [[convergent evolution]] rather than to anapsid descent.  More recent phylogenetic studies with this in mind placed turtles firmly within [[Diapsid|diapsids]], slightly closer to [[Squamata]] than to [[Archosauria]].  All molecular studies have strongly upheld this new phylogeny, though some place turtles closer to [[Archosauria]].  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 were broadly enough for constructing the cladogram.  While the issue is far from resolved, most scientists now lean towards a Diapsid origin for turtles.