Tortoise facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tortoises |
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| Aldabra giant tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) from Aldabra atoll in the Seychelles. |
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Testudinoidea
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Testudinidae
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A tortoise is a reptile of the order Testudines which lives on land. Like their aquatic cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. Most are quite small, but island tortoises have several times evolved to a large size: those on the Galapagos are famous. Darwin made one of his rare mistakes when he did not note which island each of them came from. Later it became clear that they were slightly different on different islands.
- Chambers, Paul. A sheltered life: the unexpected history of the giant tortoise. John Murray (Publishers), London. 2004. ISBN: 0-7195-6528-6.
- Gerlach, Justin. Giant tortoises of the Indian Ocean. Chimiara publishers, Frankfurt. 2004
Contents
Gallery
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A baby Testudo marginata emerges from its shell
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Aldabra Giant Tortoise Geochelone gigantea
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Galápagos tortoise on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Islands
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Gigantic galapagos turtle, Chelonoidis nigra on the island of Santa Cruz
Related pages
Images for kids
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Adult male leopard tortoise, South Africa
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Young African sulcata tortoise
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Baby tortoise feeding on lettuce
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Skeleton of a tortoise
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Fossil of the extinct Ergilemys insolitus
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Bas-relief from Angkor Wat, Cambodia, shows Samudra manthan-Vishnu in the centre, his turtle Avatar Kurma below, asuras and devas to left and right
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Baby tortoise, less than a day old
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Young, 20-year-old Tanzanian leopard tortoise feeding on grass
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22-year-old leopard tortoise
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African spurred tortoise from the Oakland Zoo
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Boy rides a tortoise at a zoo
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Young Testudo hermanni
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See also
In Spanish: Testudínidos para niños
