All Topics  
Tortoise

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Tortoise
 
 
  Topics Tortoise Topic Home

Tortoises or land turtle
Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the Order Testudines , most of whose body is shielded by a special bone or cartilage animal shell developed from their ribs....
s are land-dwelling reptile
Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s of the family of Testudinidae, order Testudines
Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the Order Testudines , most of whose body is shielded by a special bone or cartilage animal shell developed from their ribs....
. Like their marine cousins, the sea turtle
Sea turtle

Sea turtles are turtles found in all the world's oceans except the Arctic Ocean. There are seven living species of sea turtles: Flatback Sea Turtle, Green Sea Turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Kemp's Ridley, leatherback sea turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtle and Olive Ridley Sea Turtle....
s, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace
Carapace

A carapace is a Dorsum section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids as well as vertebrates such as chelonians, order Testudines, turtles and tortoises....
, the underside is the plastron
Plastron

The plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a turtle or tortoise, what one would call the belly, similar in composition to the carapace; with an external layer of horny material divided into plates called scutes and an underlying layer of interlocking bones....
, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise has both an endoskeleton
Endoskeleton

An endoskeleton is an internal support structure of an animal. In three phylum and one subclass of animals, endoskeletons of various complexity are found: Chordata, Echinodermata, Porifera, and Coleoidea....
 and an exoskeleton
Exoskeleton

An exoskeleton is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal endoskeleton of, for example, a human skeleton....
. Tortoises can vary in size from a few centimeters to two meters. Tortoises tend to be diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular
Crepuscular

Crepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight"....
 depending on the ambient temperatures.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Tortoise'
Start a new discussion about 'Tortoise'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Tortoises or land turtle
Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the Order Testudines , most of whose body is shielded by a special bone or cartilage animal shell developed from their ribs....
s are land-dwelling reptile
Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s of the family of Testudinidae, order Testudines
Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the Order Testudines , most of whose body is shielded by a special bone or cartilage animal shell developed from their ribs....
. Like their marine cousins, the sea turtle
Sea turtle

Sea turtles are turtles found in all the world's oceans except the Arctic Ocean. There are seven living species of sea turtles: Flatback Sea Turtle, Green Sea Turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Kemp's Ridley, leatherback sea turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtle and Olive Ridley Sea Turtle....
s, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace
Carapace

A carapace is a Dorsum section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids as well as vertebrates such as chelonians, order Testudines, turtles and tortoises....
, the underside is the plastron
Plastron

The plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a turtle or tortoise, what one would call the belly, similar in composition to the carapace; with an external layer of horny material divided into plates called scutes and an underlying layer of interlocking bones....
, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise has both an endoskeleton
Endoskeleton

An endoskeleton is an internal support structure of an animal. In three phylum and one subclass of animals, endoskeletons of various complexity are found: Chordata, Echinodermata, Porifera, and Coleoidea....
 and an exoskeleton
Exoskeleton

An exoskeleton is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal endoskeleton of, for example, a human skeleton....
. Tortoises can vary in size from a few centimeters to two meters. Tortoises tend to be diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular
Crepuscular

Crepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight"....
 depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive animals.

Turtles, tortoises and terrapins


Biology


Birth

Female tortoises dig nesting burrows in which they lay from one to thirty eggs. Egg laying typically occurs at night, after which the mother tortoise covers her clutch
Clutch (eggs)

A clutch of egg refers to all the eggs produced by one bird or reptile at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest....
 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 cloaca
Cloaca

In zoological anatomy, a cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the alimentary tract and urinary tract of certain animal species....
l opening between the carapice and plastron
Plastron

The plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a turtle or tortoise, what one would call the belly, similar in composition to the carapace; with an external layer of horny material divided into plates called scutes and an underlying layer of interlocking bones....
. The plastron of a female tortoise often has a noticeable V-shaped notch below the tail to facilitate passing the eggs. Upon completion of the incubation period, a fully-formed hatchling
Hatchling

In oviparous biology, a hatchling is the newborn of animals that develop and emerge from within hard-shell egg . The offspring of birds are often hatched naked and with their eyes closed....
 uses an egg tooth
Egg tooth

In some egg -laying animals, the egg tooth is a small, sharp, cranial protuberance used by offspring to break or tear through the egg's surface during hatching....
 to break out of its shell. It digs to the surface of the nest and begins a life of survival on its own. Hatchlings are born with an embryonic egg sac which serves as a source of nutrition for the first 3 to 7 days until they have the strength and mobility to find food. Juvenile tortoises often require a different balance of nutrients than adults, and therefore may eat foods which a more mature tortoise would not. For example, it is common that the young of a strictly herbivorous species will consume worm
Worm

A worm is a common name given to a diverse group of invertebrate animals that have a long, soft body and no legs. There are hundreds of thousands of species of worms, 2,700 of these are earthworms....
s or insect larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e for additional protein.

Lifespan


There are many old wives tales about the age of turtles and tortoises, one of which being that the age of a tortoise can be deduced by counting the number of concentric rings on its carapace, much like the cross-section of a tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
. This is not true, since the growth of a tortoise depends highly on the access of food and water. A tortoise that has access to plenty of forage
Forage

Forage is plant material eaten by grazing livestock.Historically the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially as hay or silage....
 (or is regularly fed by its owner) will grow faster than a Desert Tortoise
Desert Tortoise

The desert tortoise is a species of tortoise native to the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico....
 that goes days without eating.

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
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. The oldest tortoise ever recorded, almost the oldest individual animal ever recorded, was Tu'i Malila
Tu'i Malila

Tu'i Malila was the name of a tortoise given to the royal family of Tonga by Captain James Cook. It was a radiated tortoise from Madagascar and is the longest-lived tortoise according to authenticated records....
, who was presented to the Tonga
Tonga

The Kingdom of Tonga in the south Pacific Ocean comprises an archipelago of 171 islands, 48 of them inhabited, stretching over a distance of about 800 kilometres in a north-south line....
n royal family by the British explorer Captain Cook
James Cook

Captain James Cook Royal Society Royal Navy was an English explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy....
 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. The record for the longest-lived vertebrate is exceeded only by one other, a koi
Koi

, or more specifically , are ornamental domesticated varieties of the common carp Cyprinus carpio. They are also sometimes called Japanese carp....
 named Hanako whose death on July 17, 1977 ended a 215 year life span.

The Alipore Zoo
Alipore Zoological Gardens

The Alipore Zoological Gardens is India's oldest formally stated zoological park and a big tourist attraction in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is probably best known as the home of the now expired Aldabra Giant Tortoise Adwaita, which was reputed to have been over 250 years old when it died....
 in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 was the home to Adwaita
Adwaita

Adwaita was the name of a male Aldabra Giant Tortoise in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India. He was the list of long-living organisms in Kolkata....
, which zoo officials claimed was the oldest living animal until its death on March 23, 2006. Adwaita (sometimes spelled with two d's) was an Aldabra Giant Tortoise
Aldabra Giant Tortoise

The Aldabra Giant Tortoise , from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world.This species is widely referred to as Geochelone gigantea but is now placed in the genus Dipsochelys as Dipsochelys dussumieri....
 brought to India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 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 Adwaita was at least 130 years old, but claim that he was over 250 years old (although this has not been scientifically verified). Adwaita
Adwaita

Adwaita was the name of a male Aldabra Giant Tortoise in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India. He was the list of long-living organisms in Kolkata....
 was said to be the pet of Robert Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive

Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, Order of the Bath , also known as Clive of India, was a United Kingdom soldier who established the military and political supremacy of the British East India Company in Southern India and Bengal....
.

Harriet, a resident at the Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo

Australia Zoo is located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland near Beerwah, Queensland/Glass House Mountains National Park....
 in Queensland, was apocryphally thought to have been brought to England by Charles Darwin aboard the Beagle
HMS Beagle

HMS Beagle was a Cherokee class brig-sloop 10-gun sloop-of-war#Rigging of the Royal Navy, named after the beagle, a breed of dog. She was ship naming and launching on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of ?7,803....
. Harriet died on June 23, 2006, just shy of her 176th birthday.

Timothy
Timothy (tortoise)

Timothy was a Mediterranean Spur-thighed Tortoise who was thought to be approximately 165 years old at the time of her death. This made her the United Kingdom's oldest known resident....
, a spur-thighed tortoise, lived to be approximately 165 years old. For 38 years she was carried as a mascot
Mascot

The term mascot ? defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck ? colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or Brand....
 aboard various ships in Britain's Royal Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
. Then in 1892, at age 53 she retired to the grounds of Powderham Castle
Powderham Castle

Powderham Castle, is located south of Exeter, Devon, England. The Powderham Estate, in which it is set, runs down to the western shores of the estuary of the River Exe between the villages of Kenton, Devon and Starcross....
 in Devon
Devon

Devon is a large Counties of England in South West England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county but often indicating a shire....
. Up to the time of her passing in 2004 she was believed to be the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
's oldest resident.

According to articles published by the Daily Mail
Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is a United Kingdom newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1896 by Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun ....
 and the Times
Times

The Times is a UK daily newspaper. Times may also refer to:In newspapers:*The Times , a Chicago newspaper group*The Times *The Times , Louisiana...
 in December 2008, Jonathan
Jonathan (tortoise)

Jonathan is a Dipsochelys hololissa that lives on the island of St Helena.Jonathan was brought to the island from the Seychelles in 1882 along with three other tortoises at about 50 years of age....
, a Seychelles Giant tortoise living on the island of St Helena may be as old as 176 or 178 years. If true, he could be the current oldest living animal on Earth.

Sexual dimorphism

Many, though not all, species of tortoises are sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include color , size, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks....
, 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. Some believe that males grow quicker, while the female grows slower but larger. The male also has a plastron
Plastron

The plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a turtle or tortoise, what one would call the belly, similar in composition to the carapace; with an external layer of horny material divided into plates called scutes and an underlying layer of interlocking bones....
 that 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 a smaller tail which is dropped down whereas the males have a much longer tail which is usually pulled up and to the side of the rear shell.

General Information

Giant tortoises move very slow on dry land. On land move at only 0.17 miles per hour.

Diet

Most land based tortoises are herbivores, feeding on grazing grasses, weeds, leafy greens, flowers, and some fruits. Pet tortoises typically require a diet based on alfalfa
Alfalfa

Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop. In the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand it is known as lucerne and as lucerne grass in south Asia....
, clover
Clover

Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics....
, dandelions, and some varieties of lettuce
Lettuce

Lettuce is a temperate annual plant or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. In many countries, it is typically eaten cold, raw, in salads, hamburgers, tacos, and in many other dishes....
. Certain species occasionally consume worms or insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s, but too much protein can be detrimental as it can cause shell deformation and other medical problems. Cat or dog foods should not be fed to tortoises, as these do not contain the proper balance of nutrients for a reptile; in particular, they are too high in protein. Additionally, it should not be assumed that all captive tortoises can be fed on the same diet. As different tortoise species vary greatly in their nutritional requirements, even commercial food pellets should be offered only to the species specifically listed on the label or packaging. The best approach to determining the proper diet is to consult a qualified veterinarian
Veterinarian

A veterinarian or a veterinary surgeon , often shortened to vet, is a physician for animals and a practitioner of veterinary medicine....
, a herpetologist
Herpetology

Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and of reptiles .Herpetology is concerned with poikilothermic, or ectothermic, tetrapods....
, or a care sheet provided by a reputable source.

Taxonomy

The following species list largely follows Ernst & Barbour (1989), as indicated by The Reptile Database. However, the newly erected genera Astrochelys, Chelonoidis, and Stigmochelys have been retained within Geochelone
Geochelone

Geochelone is a genus of tortoises.Geochelone Tortoises, which are also known as geoclelone tortoises or typical tortoises, can be found in Africa, Americas, Asia, and several Oceania islands....
.

  • Chersina
    • Chersina angulata
      Chersina angulata

      The Bowsprit Tortoise is a species of tortoise found in dry areas and scrub forest in South African. A small colonies were introduced to domestic gardens in Namibia by tourists....
      , Bowsprit Tortoise
  • Cylindraspis
    Cylindraspis

    Cylindraspis is a genus of recently extinct giant tortoises. All of its species lived in the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean and all are now extinct due to hunting and introduction of non-native predators....
     (All species Extinct)
    • Cylindraspis indica
      Cylindraspis indica

      Cylindraspis indica was a species of Giant Tortoise in the Testudinidae family.It was Endemism to R?union....
      , synonym Cylindraspis borbonica
    • Cylindraspis inepta
      Cylindraspis inepta

      Cylindraspis inepta or Saddle-backed Mauritius Giant Tortoise was a species of tortoise in the Testudinidae family.It was endemism to Mauritius....
    • Cylindraspis peltastes
      Cylindraspis peltastes

      Cylindraspis peltastes or Domed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise was a species of tortoise in the Testudinidae family. It was endemism to Rodrigues ....
    • Cylindraspis triserrata
      Cylindraspis triserrata

      Cylindraspis triserrata or Domed Mauritius Giant Tortoise was a species of tortoise. It was Endemism to Mauritius....
    • Cylindraspis vosmaeri
      Cylindraspis vosmaeri

      Cylindraspis vosmaeri or Saddle-backed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise was a species of tortoise in the Testudinidae family. It was endemism to Rodrigues ....
  • Dipsochelys
    Dipsochelys

    Dipsochelys is a genus of giant tortoise restricted to Madagascar and the Seychelles islands, containing six species:* Dipsochelys abrupta Grandidier 1868 - Madagascar, extinct...
    • Dipsochelys abrupta (Extinct)
    • Dipsochelys arnoldi
      Arnold's Giant Tortoise

      Arnold's Giant Tortoise also known as the Seychelles saddle-backed tortoise inhabited the granitic Seychelles islands until around 1840. At that time it was presumed to be extinct along with the Seychelles giant tortoise; a species which shared the same islands....
      , Arnold's Giant Tortoise,
    • Dipsochelys daudinii (Extinct)
    • Dipsochelys dussumieri
      Aldabra Giant Tortoise

      The Aldabra Giant Tortoise , from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world.This species is widely referred to as Geochelone gigantea but is now placed in the genus Dipsochelys as Dipsochelys dussumieri....
      , Aldabra Giant Tortoise, common synonyms Geochelone gigantea
      Aldabra Giant Tortoise

      The Aldabra Giant Tortoise , from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world.This species is widely referred to as Geochelone gigantea but is now placed in the genus Dipsochelys as Dipsochelys dussumieri....
      , Aldabrachelys gigantea
      Aldabra Giant Tortoise

      The Aldabra Giant Tortoise , from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world.This species is widely referred to as Geochelone gigantea but is now placed in the genus Dipsochelys as Dipsochelys dussumieri....
    • Dipsochelys grandidieri (Extinct)
    • Dipsochelys hololissa
      Seychelles giant tortoise

      The Seychelles giant tortoise has been thought to be extinction since the mid-19th century due to over-exploitation on the granitic Seychelles islands....
      , Seychelles giant tortoise
  • Geochelone
    Geochelone

    Geochelone is a genus of tortoises.Geochelone Tortoises, which are also known as geoclelone tortoises or typical tortoises, can be found in Africa, Americas, Asia, and several Oceania islands....
    • Geochelone carbonaria
      Red-footed tortoise

      The Red-footed tortoise is a tortoise native to South America and popular as a pet. It draws its name from the red or orange scales visible on its limbs, as well as its head and tail....
      , Red-Footed Tortoise; sometimes placed in distinct genus Chelonoidis
    • Geochelone chilensis
      Argentine Tortoise

      The Argentine Tortoise, Chaco Tortoise, or Southern Wood Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It is found in Argentina and Paraguay....
      , Chaco or Chilean Tortoise; sometimes placed in distinct genus Chelonoidis
    • Geochelone denticulata
      Brazilian Giant Tortoise

      The Brazilian Giant Tortoise, Forest Tortoise, South American Tortoise, South American Yellow-footed Tortoise, or Yellow-footed Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family....
      , Yellow-Footed Tortoise; sometimes placed in distinct genus Chelonoidis
    • Geochelone elegans
      Indian Star Tortoise

      The Indian Star Tortoise is a species of tortoise found in dry areas and scrub forest in India and Sri Lanka. This species is quite popular in the exotic pet trade....
      , Indian Star Tortoise
    • Geochelone nigra
      Galápagos tortoise

      The Gal?pagos tortoise , is the largest living tortoise, Endemism to seven islands of the Gal?pagos Islands. Fully grown adults can weigh over and measure long....
      , Galápagos Giant Tortoise; sometimes placed in distinct genus Chelonoidis
    • Geochelone pardalis
      Leopard Tortoise

      The Leopard tortoise is a large and attractively marked tortoise found throughout the savannas of Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. This Testudines is a grazing species of tortoise that favors semi-arid, thorny to grassland habitats, although some leopard tortoises have been found in rainier areas....
      , Leopard Tortoise; sometimes placed in distinct genus Stigmochelys or in Psammobates
    • Geochelone platynota
      Burmese Star Tortoise

      The Burmese Star Tortoise is becoming extinct in its native Myanmar . It lives in the dry, deciduous forest, and is eaten both by the native Burmese, and is traded to the China, where it is sometimes found in the food markets....
      , Burmese Star Tortoise
    • Geochelone radiata
      Radiated Tortoise

      The radiated tortoise is a species in the genus of the Astrochelys tortoises.It is fairly large and considered to be one of the most beautiful tortoises in the world....
      , Radiated Tortoise; sometimes placed in distinct genus Astrochelys
    • Geochelone sulcata
      African Spurred Tortoise

      The African Spurred Tortoise , also called the African Spur Thigh Tortoise, is a species of tortoise which inhabits the southern edge of the Sahara desert, in northern Africa....
      , African Spurred Tortoise (Sulcata Tortoise)
    • Geochelone yniphora
      Angonoka

      The Angonoka, Madagascar Angulated Tortoise, or Madagascar Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It is Endemism to Madagascar....
      , Angulated Tortoise, Madagascan (Plowshare) Tortoise; sometimes placed in distinct genus Astrochelys
  • Gopherus
    Gopherus

    Gopherus is a genus of tortoises commonly referred to as gopher tortoises. The gopher tortoise is grouped with land tortoises that originated 60 million years ago, in North America....
    • Gopherus agassizii
      Desert Tortoise

      The desert tortoise is a species of tortoise native to the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico....
      , Desert Tortoise
    • Gopherus berlandieri
      Texas Tortoise

      The Texas Tortoise , is one of four species of tortoise that are native to North America. Its range extends from southern Texas southward into the Mexico states of Coahuila, Nuevo Le?n, and Tamaulipas....
      , Texas Tortoise
    • Gopherus flavomarginatus
      Bolson Tortoise

      The Bolson Tortoise , also called the Mexican Giant Tortoise or Yellow-margined Tortoise, is a species of tortoise from North America....
      , Bolson Tortoise
    • Gopherus polyphemus
      Gopherus

      Gopherus is a genus of tortoises commonly referred to as gopher tortoises. The gopher tortoise is grouped with land tortoises that originated 60 million years ago, in North America....
      , Gopher Tortoise
  • †
    Extinction

    In biology and ecology, extinction is the death of every member of a species or group of taxon. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species ....
    Hadrianus
    Hadrianus (genus)

    Hadrianus is an extinct Genus of tortoise belonging to the Family found in the United States and Spain and believed to be the oldest true tortoise known....
    • Hadrianus corsoni (syn. H. octonarius)
    • Hadrianus robustus
    • Hadrianus schucherti
    • Hadrianus utahensis
  • Homopus
    Homopus

    Homopus is a genus of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It contains the following species:* Berger's Cape Tortoise * Speckled Padloper Tortoise...
    • Homopus aerolatus, Parrot-Beaked Cape Tortoise
    • Homopus boulengeri, Boulenger's Cape Tortoise
    • Homopus femoralis, Karroo Cape Tortoise
    • Homopus signatus
      Speckled Padloper Tortoise

      The Speckled padloper tortoise is the world's smallest tortoise. Found in western South Africa, the males measure 6-8 cm , while females measure up to almost 10 cm ....
      , Speckled Cape Tortoise, Speckled Padloper
    • Homopus bergeri
      Berger's Cape Tortoise

      The Berger's Cape Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It is Endemism to Namibia....
      , Berger's Cape Tortoise, Nama padloper, synonym Homopus solus
      Berger's Cape Tortoise

      The Berger's Cape Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It is Endemism to Namibia....
  • Indotestudo
    Indotestudo

    Indotestudo is a genus of tortoises....
    • Indotestudo elongata
      Indotestudo elongata

      Elongated Tortoise is a species of tortoise found in Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia....
      , Elongated Tortoise
    • Indotestudo forstenii
      Indotestudo forstenii

      Indotestudo forstenii called Forsten's Tortoise and Travancore Tortoise is a species of tortoise found on the Indonesian isle of Sulawesi ....
      , Travancore Tortoise, Forsten’s Tortoise
    • Indotestudo travancorica
      Indotestudo travancorica

      Travancore Tortoise Indotestudo travancorica is a species of tortoise found in the Western Ghats of India....
      , Travancore Tortoise
  • Kinixys
    Kinixys

    Kinixys is a genus of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It contains the following species:* Common Tortoise * Home's Hinge-back Tortoise ...
    • Kinixys belliana, Bell's Hinge-Backed Tortoise
    • Kinixys erosa
      Common Tortoise

      The Common Tortoise, Forest Hinged Tortoise, Schweigger's Tortoise, Serrated Hinge-back Tortoise, Serrated Hinge-backed Tortoise, or Serrated Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family....
      , Serrated Hinge-Backed Tortoise
    • Kinixys homeana
      Home's Hinge-back Tortoise

      The Home's Hinge-back Tortoise, Home's Hinged Tortoise, or Home's Hinged-backed Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family....
      , Home's Hinge-Backed Tortoise
    • Kinixys lobatsiana, Lobatse Hingeback Tortoise
    • Kinixys natalensis
      Natal Hinge-back Tortoise

      The Natal Hinge-back Tortoise, Natal Hinge-backed Tortoise, or Natal Hinged Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family....
      , Natal Hinge-Backed Tortoise
    • Kinixys spekii, Speke's Hingeback Tortoise
  • Malacochersus
    • Malacochersus tornieri
      Pancake tortoise

      The Pancake Tortoise, or Malacochersus tornieri, is a flat-shelled tortoise most commonly found in Tanzania and Kenya. Its name is derived from the shape of its animal shell, which is shaped like a pancake....
      , Pancake Tortoise
  • Manouria
    Manouria

    Manouria is a genus of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It contains the following species:* Impressed Tortoise * Manouria emys...
    • Manouria emys
      Manouria emys

      Asian Forest Tortoise is a species of tortoise found in India , Bangladesh, Burma , Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia ....
      , Brown Tortoise (Mountain Tortoise)
    • Manouria impressa
      Impressed Tortoise

      Manouria impressa, the Impressed Tortoise, occurs in montane areas of forest in Southeast Asia in Burma, southern China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia....
      , Impressed Tortoise
  • Psammobates
    • Psammobates geometricus
      Geometric Tortoise

      The Geometric Tortoise is found in a very small section in the South-Western Cape South Africa. The tortoise can grow up to 6 inches. When the female needs a nest to lay her eggs in, she digs a hole and covers it with vegetation....
      , Geometric Tortoise
    • Psammobates oculifer, Serrated Star Tortoise
    • Psammobates tentorius, African Tent Tortoise
  • Pyxis
    • Pyxis arachnoides
      Spider Tortoise

      The Spider Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It is Endemism to Madagascar....
      , Madagascan Spider Tortoise
    • Pyxis planicauda
      Flat-backed Spider Tortoise

      The Flat-backed Spider Tortoise, Flat-shelled Spider Tortoise, or Madagascar Flat-shelled Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family....
      , Madagascan Flat-Tailed Tortoise
  • Stylemys
    Stylemys

    Stylemys is the first fossil genus of dry land tortoise belonging to the order Testudines discovered in the United States. The genus lived in temperate to subtropical areas of North America, Europe, and Asia, based of fossil ditribution....
     (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 (genus)

    Testudo is a genus of tortoises found in North Africa, western Asia, and Europe. Several species are under threat in the wild, mainly from habitat destruction....
    • Testudo atlas
      Testudo atlas

      Testudo atlas , also known as Colossochelys atlas, and originally described as Geochelone atlas is an extinct species of cryptodira turtle from the Pleistocene period, about 2 million years ago....
      , Atlas tortoise, Colossochelys (Extinct)
    • Testudo graeca, Greek Tortoise (Spur-Thighed Tortoise)
    • Testudo hermanni, Herman's Tortoise
    • Testudo horsfieldii
      Russian Tortoise

      The Russian Tortoise, Horsfield's Tortoise or Central Asian Tortoise is a species of tortoise that is a popular pet. It is named after the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield....
      , Russian Tortoise (Horsfield's Tortoise, or Central Asian Tortoise)
    • Testudo kleinmanni
      Kleinmann's Tortoise

      Kleinmann's Tortoise , often called Egyptian Tortoise and occasionally Leith's Tortoise, also includes the Negev Tortoise. It is a critically endangered Cryptodira....
      , Egyptian Tortoise, incl. Negev Tortoise
    • Testudo marginata
      Marginated Tortoise

      The Marginated Tortoise is a species of tortoise found in Greece, Italy and the Balkans in southern Europe. It is the largest European tortoise, reaching a weight of up to 5 kilogram and a length of 35 cm ....
      , Marginated Tortoise
    • Testudo nabeulensis
      Tunisian Spur-thighed Tortoise

      The Tunisian Spur-thighed Tortoise belongs to the spur-thighed tortoise group. It was originally described as a new species in 1990, and even placed in a distinct genus....
      , Tunisian Spur-thigh Tortoise


Tortoises in religion

Awatoceanofmilk01
In Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
, Kurma was the second avatar
Avatar

Avatar or Avatara , often translated into English as incarnation, literally means descent and usually implies a deliberate descent from higher spiritual realms to lower realms of existence for special purposes....
 of Vishnu
Vishnu

Vishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of panchadeva, and his supreme status is declared in the Hindu sacred texts like Yajurveda, the Rigveda and the Bhagavad Gita....
. Like the Matsya
Matsya

Matsya was the first Avatar of Vishnu in Hindu mythology.According to the Matsya Purana, the king of pre-ancient Dravida and a devotee of Lord Vishnu, Satyavrata who later becomes known as Manu was washing his hands in a river when a little fish swam into his hands and pleaded with him to save its life....
 Avatar
Avatar

Avatar or Avatara , often translated into English as incarnation, literally means descent and usually implies a deliberate descent from higher spiritual realms to lower realms of existence for special purposes....
a also belongs to the Satya Yuga
Satya Yuga

The Satya Yuga , also called Sat Yuga, Krta Yuga and Krita Yuga in Hinduism, is the "Yuga of Truth", when mankind is governed by deity, and every manifestation or work is close to the purest ideal and mankind will allow intrinsic goodness to rule supreme....
. Vishnu took the form of a half-man half-tortoise
Tortoise

Tortoises or land turtles are land-dwelling reptiles of the family of Testudinidae, order Turtle. Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell....
, the lower half being a tortoise. He is normally shown as having four arms. He sat on the bottom of the ocean
Ocean

An ocean is a major body of Seawater, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a World Ocean that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas....
 after the Great Flood. A mountain
Mountain

A mountain is a landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill....
 was placed on his back by the other gods
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
 so that they could churn the sea and find the ancient treasures of the Vedic
Vedic period

The Vedic Period is the period during which the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Indo-Iranians, were being composed. Scholars place the Vedic period in the 2nd millennium BCE and 1st millennium BCE millennia BCE continuing up to the 6th century BCE based on literary evidence....
 peoples. Tortoise shells were used by ancient Chinese as Oracle Bones to make predictions.

Tortoises in popular culture

See main article Cultural depictions of turtles and tortoises
Cultural depictions of turtles and tortoises

Turtles and tortoises are frequently depicted in popular culture as easygoing, patient, and wise creatures, Chelydridae aside. Due to their long lifespan, slow movement, sturdiness, and wrinkled appearance, they are an emblem of longevity and stability in many cultures around the world....


Gallery


Further reading



External links

  • : Tortoise conservation and expert advice on tortoise care.
  • : Conservation and care of turtles.