Tortoises () are a family, Testudinidae, of land-dwelling reptiles 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 among vertebrates in that the pectoral and pelvic girdles are inside the ribcage rather than outside. 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. Tortoises are the longest living land animal in the world, although the longest living species of tortoise is a matter of debate. Galápagos tortoises are noted to live over 150 years, but an Aldabra giant tortoise named Adwaita may have been the longest living at an estimated 255 years.
Video Tortoise
Terminology
Differences exist in usage of the common terms turtle, tortoise, and terrapin, depending on the variety of English being used; usage is inconsistent and contradictory. These terms are common names and do not reflect precise biological or taxonomic distinctions.
The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists uses "turtle" to describe all species of the order Testudines, regardless of whether they are land-dwelling or sea-dwelling, and uses "tortoise" as a more specific term for slow-moving terrestrial species. General American usage agrees; turtle is often a general term (although some restrict it to aquatic turtles); tortoise is used only in reference to terrestrial turtles or, more narrowly, only those members of Testudinidae, the family of modern land tortoises; and terrapin may refer to turtles that are small and live in fresh and brackish water, in particular the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin). In America, for example, the members of the genus Terrapene dwell on land, yet are referred to as box turtles rather than tortoises.
British usage, by contrast, tends not to use "turtle" as a generic term for all members of the order, and also applies the term "tortoises" broadly to all land-dwelling members of the order Testudines, regardless of whether they are actually members of the family Testudinidae. In Britain, terrapin is used to refer to a larger group of semiaquatic turtles than the restricted meaning in America.
Australian usage is different from both American and British usage. Land tortoises are not native to Australia, yet traditionally freshwater turtles have been called "tortoises" in Australia. Some Australian experts disapprove of this usage--believing that the term tortoises is "better confined to purely terrestrial animals with very different habits and needs, none of which are found in this country"--and promote the use of the term "freshwater turtle" to describe Australia's primarily aquatic members of the order Testudines because it avoids misleading use of the word "tortoise" and also is a useful distinction from marine turtles.
Maps Tortoise
Biology
Lifecycle
Female tortoises dig nesting burrows in which they lay from 1 to 30 eggs. Egg-laying typically occurs at night, after which the mother tortoise covers her clutch with sand, soil, and organic material. The eggs are left unattended, and depending on the species, take from 60 to 120 days to incubate. The size of the egg depends on the size of the mother and can be estimated by examining the width of the cloacal opening between the carapace and plastron. The plastron of a female tortoise often has a noticeable V-shaped notch below the tail which facilitates passing the eggs. Upon completion of the incubation period, a fully formed hatchling uses an egg tooth to break out of its shell. It digs to the surface of the nest and begins a life of survival on its own. They are hatched with an embryonic egg sac which serves as a source of nutrition for the first three to seven days until they have the strength and mobility to find food. Juvenile tortoises often require a different balance of nutrients than adults, so may eat foods which a more mature tortoise would not. For example, the young of a strictly herbivorous species commonly will consume worms or insect larvae for additional protein.
The number of concentric rings on the carapace, much like the cross-section of a tree, can sometimes give a clue to how old the animal is, but, since the growth depends highly on the accessibility of food and water, a tortoise that has access to plenty of forage (or is regularly fed by its owner) with no seasonal variation will have no noticeable rings. Moreover, some tortoises grow more than one ring per season, and in some others, due to wear, some rings are no longer visible.
Tortoises generally have one of the longest lifespans of any animal, 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, and one of the oldest individual animals ever recorded, was Tu'i Malila, which was presented to the Tongan royal family by the British explorer Captain Cook shortly after its birth in 1777. Tu'i Malila remained in the care of the Tongan royal family until its death by natural causes on May 19, 1965, at the age of 188. 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 lifespan.
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. West Bengal officials said records showed Adwaita was at least 150 years old, but other evidence pointed to 250. Adwaita was said to be the pet of Robert Clive.
Harriet was a resident at the Australia Zoo in Queensland from 1987 to her death in 2006; she was believed to have been brought to England by Charles Darwin aboard the Beagle and then on to Australia by John Clements Wickham. Harriet died on June 23, 2006, just shy of her 176th birthday.
Timothy, a spur-thighed tortoise, lived to be about 165 years old. For 38 years, she was carried as a mascot aboard various ships in Britain's Royal Navy. Then in 1892, at age 53, she retired to the grounds of Powderham Castle in Devon. Up to the time of her death in 2004, she was believed to be the United Kingdom's oldest resident.
Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise living on the island of St Helena, may be as old as 182 or 178 years.
Sexual dimorphism
Many species of tortoises are sexually dimorphic, though the differences between males and females vary from species to species. In some species, males have a longer, more protruding neck plate than their female counterparts, while in others, the claws are longer on the females.
In most tortoise species, the female tends to be larger than the male. The male plastron is curved inwards to aid reproduction. The easiest way to determine the sex of a tortoise is to look at the tail. The females, as a general rule, have smaller tails, dropped down, whereas the males have much longer tails which are usually pulled up and to the side of the rear shell.
Brain
The brain of a tortoise is extremely small. The tortoises, from Central and South America, do not have an area in the brain called the hippocampus, which relates to emotion, learning, memory and spatial navigation. Studies have shown that red-footed tortoises may rely on an area of the brain called the medial cortex, an area that humans use for actions such as decision making.
In the 17th century, Francesco Redi performed an experiment that involved removing the brain of a land tortoise, which then proceeded to live six months. Freshwater tortoises, when subjected 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.
General information
Giant tortoises move very slowly on dry land, at only 0.17 mph (0.27 km/h). The fastest recorded tortoise speed is 5 mph (8.0 km/h).
The tortoise starts digging the ground to form its hybernaculum at the first signs of autumn. It digs with its fore-feet in a very slow motion, and prefers swampy grounds where it could bury itself in mud. It starts losing its appetite for food as the temperature drops until it stops eating. During hibernation it stops breathing as well. When the weather warms up suddenly it stops its digging, and starts it again as soon as the temperature drops. It wakes up from hibernation in the spring, but it does not start eating immediately. Gradually it gains its appetite and energy as the temperature warms up. During hot summer days, tortoises eat voraciously, and spend many hours sleeping. They start sleeping in late afternoon until late the next morning. Although tortoises love warm weather, they avoid hot sun, hiding under green leaves or between vegetation.
Diet
Most land-based tortoises are herbivores, feeding on grasses, weeds, leafy greens, flowers, and some fruits, although some omnivorous species are in this family. Pet tortoises typically require diets based on wild grasses, weeds, leafy greens and certain flowers. Certain species consume worms or insects and carrion in their normal habitats. Too much protein is detrimental in herbivorous species, and has been associated with shell deformities and other medical problems. As different tortoise species vary greatly in their nutritional requirements, it is essential to thoroughly research the dietary needs of individual tortoises.
Taxonomy
This species list largely follows van Dijk et al. (2014) and Rhodin et al. (2015).
Family Testudinidae Batsch 1788
- Aldabrachelys Loveridge and Williams 1957:166
- Aldabrachelys gigantea Aldabran giant tortoise.
- +Aldabrachelys abrupta Late Holocene, extinct circa 1200 AD
- +Aldabrachelys grandidieri Late Holocene, extinct circa 884 AD
- Astrochelys Gray, 1873:4
- Astrochelys radiata, radiated tortoise
- Astrochelys yniphora, angonoka tortoise, (Madagascan) plowshare tortoise
- Centrochelys Gray 1872:5
- + Centrochelys atlantica
- + Centrochelys burchardi
- + Centrochelys marocana
- + Centrochelys robusta
- Centrochelys sulcata, African spurred tortoise, sulcata tortoise
- + Centrochelys vulcanica
- Chelonoidis Fitzinger 1835:112
- + Chelonoidis alburyorum Abaco tortoise, Late Pleistocene, extinct circa 550 BC
- Chelonoidis carbonaria, red-footed tortoise
- Chelonoidis chilensis, Chaco tortoise, Argentine tortoise or southern wood tortoise
- + Chelonoidis cubensis
- Chelonoidis denticulata, Brazilian giant tortoise, yellow-footed tortoise
- + Chelonoidis lutzae Lutz's giant tortoise, Late Pleistocene
- + Chelonoidis monensis
- Chelonoidis nigra complex:
- + Chelonoidis abingdonii, Pinta Island giant tortoise, Abingdon Island giant tortoise (extinct)
- Chelonoidis becki, Wolf Volcano giant tortoise, Cape Berkeley giant tortoise
- Chelonoidis chathamensis, San Cristobal giant tortoise, Chatham Island giant tortoise
- Chelonoidis darwini, San Salvador giant tortoise, James Island giant tortoise
- Chelonoidis duncanensis, Pinzon giant tortoise, Duncan Island giant tortoise
- Chelonoidis hoodensis, Espanola giant tortoise, Hood Island giant tortoise
- + Chelonoidis nigra, Floreana giant tortoise, Charles Island giant tortoise (extinct)
- + Chelonoidis phantastica, Fernandina giant tortoise, Narborough Island giant tortoise (extinct)
- Chelonoidis porteri, Santa Cruz giant tortoise, Indefatigable Island giant tortoise
- Chelonoidis vicina, Isabela Island giant tortoise, Albemarle Island giant tortoise
- + Chelonoidis sellovii Southern Cone giant tortoise, Pleistocene
- + Chelonoidis sombrerensis Sombrero giant tortoise, Late Pleistocene
- Chersina Gray 1830:5
- Chersina angulata, angulated tortoise, South African bowsprit tortoise
- + Cheirogaster Bergounioux 1935:78
- +Cheirogaster gymnesica Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene
- +Cheirogaster schafferi Pliocene to Early Pleistocene
- +Cylindraspis Fitzinger 1835:112 (all species extinct) following Austin and Arnold, 2001:
- Cylindraspis indica, synonym Cylindraspis borbonica, Reunion giant tortoise
- Cylindraspis inepta, saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise or Mauritius giant domed tortoise
- Cylindraspis peltastes, domed Rodrigues giant tortoise
- Cylindraspis triserrata, domed Mauritius giant tortoise or Mauritius giant flat-shelled tortoise
- Cylindraspis vosmaeri, saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise
- Geochelone Fitzinger 1835:112
- + Geochelone burchardi Tenerife giant tortoise
- + Geochelone vulcanica Gran Canaria giant tortoise
- Geochelone elegans, Indian star tortoise
- Geochelone platynota, Burmese star tortoise
- + Geochelone robusta Malta giant tortoise
- Gopherus Rafinesque 1832:64
- Gopherus agassizii, Mojave desert tortoise, Mohave desert tortoise, Agassiz's desert tortoise
- Gopherus berlandieri, Texas tortoise, Berlandier's tortoise
- Gopherus flavomarginatus, Bolson tortoise
- Gopherus morafkai, Sonoran desert tortoise, Morafka's desert tortoise
- Gopherus polyphemus, gopher tortoise
- + Hadrianus
- Hadrianus corsoni (syn. H. octonarius)
- Hadrianus robustus
- Hadrianus schucherti
- Hadrianus utahensis
- + Hesperotestudo
- Hesperotestudo alleni
- Hesperotestudo angusticeps
- Hesperotestudo brontops
- Hesperotestudo equicomes
- Hesperotestudo impensa
- Hesperotestudo incisa
- Hesperotestudo johnstoni
- Hesperotestudo kalganensis
- Hesperotestudo niobrarensis
- Hesperotestudo orthopygia
- Hesperotestudo osborniana
- Hesperotestudo percrassa
- Hesperotestudo riggsi
- Hesperotestudo tumidus
- Hesperotestudo turgida
- Hesperotestudo wilsoni
- Homopus Duméril and Bibron 1834:357
- Homopus areolatus, common padloper, parrot-beaked tortoise, beaked Cape tortoise
- Homopus boulengeri, Karoo padloper, Karoo dwarf tortoise, Boulenger's Cape tortoise
- Homopus femoralis, greater padloper, greater dwarf tortoise
- Homopus signatus, speckled padloper tortoise
- Homopus solus, Nama padloper, Berger's Cape tortoise
- Indotestudo Lindholm, 1929
- Indotestudo elongata, elongated tortoise, yellow-headed tortoise
- Indotestudo forstenii, Forsten's tortoise, East Indian tortoise
- Indotestudo travancorica, Travancore tortoise
- Kinixys
- Kinixys belliana, Bell's hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys erosa, forest hinge-back tortoise, serrated hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys homeana, Home's hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys lobatsiana, Lobatse hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys natalensis, Natal hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys spekii, Speke's hinge-back tortoise
- Malacochersus Lindholm 1929:285
- Malacochersus tornieri, pancake tortoise
- Manouria Gray 1854:133
- Manouria emys, Asian giant tortoise, brown tortoise (mountain tortoise)
- Manouria impressa, impressed tortoise
- + Megalochelys Falconer, H. and Cautley, P.T. 1837.
- + Megalochelys atlas, Atlas tortoise, Extinct - Pliocene to Pleistocene
- + Megalochelys cautleyi, Cautley's giant tortoise
- Psammobates Fitzinger 1835:113
- Psammobates geometricus, geometric tortoise
- Psammobates oculifer, serrated tent tortoise, Kalahari tent tortoise
- Psammobates tentorius, African tent tortoise
- Pyxis Bell 1827:395
- Pyxis arachnoides, (Madagascan) spider tortoise
- Pyxis planicauda, flat-backed spider tortoise, (Madagascan) flat-tailed tortoise, flat-tailed spider tortoise
- Stigmochelys Gray, 1873
- Stigmochelys pardalis, leopard tortoise
- + Stylemys (Genus extinct)
- Stylemys botti
- Stylemys calaverensis
- Stylemys canetotiana
- Stylemys capax
- Stylemys conspecta
- Stylemys copei
- Stylemys emiliae
- Stylemys frizaciana
- Stylemys karakolensis
- Stylemys nebrascensis (syn. S. amphithorax)
- Stylemys neglectus
- Stylemys oregonensis
- Stylemys pygmea
- Stylemys uintensis
- Stylemys undabuna
- Testudo
- Testudo graeca, Greek tortoise, spur-thighed tortoise, Moorish tortoise
- Testudo hermanni, Hermann's tortoise
- Testudo horsfieldii, Russian tortoise, steppe tortoise, Horsfield's tortoise, or Central Asian tortoise
- Testudo kleinmanni, Egyptian tortoise, including Negev tortoise
- Testudo marginata, marginated tortoise
In religion
In Hinduism, Kurma (Sanskrit: ?????) was the second Avatar of Vishnu. Like the Matsya Avatara, Kurma also belongs to the Satya Yuga. Vishnu took the form of a half-man, half-tortoise, the lower half being a tortoise. He is normally shown as having four arms. He sat on the bottom of the ocean after the Great Flood. A mountain was placed on his back by the other gods so they could churn the sea and find the ancient treasures of the Vedic peoples.
Tortoise shells were used by ancient Chinese as oracle bones to make predictions.
The tortoise is a symbol of the Ancient Greek god, Hermes.
Gallery
See also
- Cultural depictions of turtles
- Giant tortoise
- Jackson ratio
References
Further reading
- Chambers, Paul (2004). A Sheltered Life: The Unexpected History of the Giant Tortoise. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6528-6.
- Ernst, C. H.; Barbour, R. W. (1989). Turtles of the World. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- Gerlach, Justin (2004). Giant Tortoises of the Indian Ocean. Frankfurt: Chimiara.
- Antoinette C. van der Kuyl; Donato L. Ph. Ballasina; John T. Dekker; Jolanda Maas; Ronald E. Willemsen; Jaap Goudsmit (February 2002). "Phylogenetic Relationships among the Species of the Genus Testudo (Testudines: Testudinidae) Inferred from Mitochondrial 12S rRNA Gene Sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 22 (2): 174-183. doi:10.1006/mpev.2001.1052. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 11820839.
External links
- Family Testudinidae (Tortoises), The Reptile Database
- Tortoise Protection Group, Tortoise conservation information
- Chelonia: Conservation and care of turtles.
- Live Tortoise Stream : Live Tortoise Stream
Source of article : Wikipedia
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