Conservation biology of freshwater turtles and tortoises
How do turtles survive in their environment?
To protect themselves from predators, turtles can pull their heads, legs, and tails into their shells. Box turtles have the additional ability to clamp their shells completely shut due to a hinge in the plastron. Because the shell is made of bone, very few predators can successfully consume an adult turtle..
How does a tortoise adapt to its environment?
One of these adaptations is their ability to dig burrows, which are tunnels or holes in the ground. These burrows have a few purposes. Tortoises can hide in them from predators, and tortoises can hibernate (take a long rest) in them during winter..
What are 5 adaptations of a tortoise?
Tortoises have many adaptations that help them survive, such as scutes, protective scales on tortoise shells that protect them from injury. They dig burrows, tunnels or holes in the ground, so they can hide from predators and hibernate for the winter..
What is the difference between tortoise and turtle in biology?
Tortoises have more rounded and domed shells where turtles have thinner, more water-dynamic shells. Turtle shells are more streamlined to aid in swimming. One major key difference is that tortoises spend most of their time on land and turtles are adapted for life spent in water..
What is the difference between turtle and tortoise?
Tortoises have more rounded and domed shells where turtles have thinner, more water-dynamic shells. Turtle shells are more streamlined to aid in swimming. One major key difference is that tortoises spend most of their time on land and turtles are adapted for life spent in water..
What is tortoise conservation?
The Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Conservation Fund is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's International Affairs program. We support on-the-ground conservation efforts to protect and recover some of the most imperiled tortoises and freshwater turtles around the world..
branch of zoology devoted to the study of turtles and tortoises.
Tortoises have more rounded and domed shells where turtles have thinner, more water-dynamic shells. Turtle shells are more streamlined to aid in swimming. One major key difference is that tortoises spend most of their time on land and turtles are adapted for life spent in water.
Turtles have adapted to a remarkable variety of environments, but the greatest number of species occur in southeastern North America and South Asia. In both areas, most species are aquatic, living in bodies of water ranging from small ponds and bogs to large lakes and rivers.
This major compilation and assessment project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group is gradually producing individual species accounts
What are the cites resolutions on tortoises and freshwater turtles?
“The resolution documents submitted by the CITES Secretariat on tortoises and freshwater turtles specifically mentioned the commendable result achieved by the country in operations such as:
those initiated by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau namely Operation Turtshield
which resulted in nabbing many criminals involved in poaching and illegal tr..
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What does the Turtle Conservancy do to protect the fynbos?
The Turtle Conservancy is dedicated to protecting the Fynbos and the Geometric Tortoise. We are doing this in several ways:
Fencing protects tortoises from roadways and helps create firebreaks to prevent the mass extinction of fragmented populations. The fencing required will also keep out wild dogs, cattle and possible poachers.
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What is the Turtle Conservancy?
Additionally, several species of endangered plants are present at the site. The Turtle Conservancy’s goal is to work with surrounding land owners to broaden effective tortoise conservation management efforts in the entire ecosystem, thus providing uniform protection not only of the tortoises but of all biodiversity in the area.
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Why do we need a Geometric Tortoise Preserve?
In South Africa, the Turtle Conservancy, along with its partner organizations, has purchased over 865 acres of the last remaining habitat for this critically endangered tortoise, which we are calling the Geometric Tortoise Preserve. We need to preserve this critical habitat to save this beautiful tortoise from extinction.
Conservation biology of freshwater turtles and tortoises
Species of tortoise
The African spurred tortoise, also called the sulcata tortoise, is an endangered species of tortoise inhabiting the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, the Sahel, in Africa. It is the largest mainland species of tortoise in the world, and the third-largest in the world, after the Galapagos tortoise and Aldabra giant tortoise. It is the only living species in its genus, Centrochelys, with the five other species in the family already extinct.
The Aldabra giant tortoise is a species of tortoise in the family
Species of tortoise
The Aldabra giant tortoise is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to the Seychelles, with the nominate subspecies, A. g. gigantea native to Aldabra atoll. It is one of the largest tortoises in the world. Historically, giant tortoises were found on many of the western Indian Ocean islands, as well as Madagascar, and the fossil record indicates giant tortoises once occurred on every continent and many islands with the exception of Australia and Antarctica.
The alligator snapping turtle is a large species of turtle in the
Large freshwater turtle from the Eastern United States
The alligator snapping turtle is a large species of turtle in the family Chelydridae. The species is native to freshwater habitats in the United States. M. temminckii is one of the heaviest freshwater turtles in the world. It is the largest freshwater species of turtle in North America. It is often associated with, but not closely related to, the common snapping turtle, which is in the genus Chelydra. The specific epithet temminckii is in honor of Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck.
The Amboina box turtle or Southeast Asian box
Species of turtle
The Amboina box turtle or Southeast Asian box turtle is a species of Asian box turtle widely distributed across Southeast Asia. Its range extends on the Asian mainland from northeast India, through Bangladesh, Burma and Thailand, across Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. It is also found on the archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines.
Black marsh turtle
Species of turtle
Siebenrockiella crassicollis is a freshwater turtle endemic to Southeast Asia. It is one of two species classified under the genus Siebenrockiella in the family Geoemydidae.
The eastern long-necked turtle is an east Australian
Species of turtle
The eastern long-necked turtle is an east Australian species of snake-necked turtle that inhabits a wide variety of water bodies and is an opportunistic feeder. It is a side-necked turtle (Pleurodira), meaning that it bends its head sideways into its shell rather than pulling it directly back.
Critically endangered subspecies of tortoise
Chelonoidis niger phantasticus is a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise that was discovered in 1906 and thought extinct, until a single female was discovered living on Fernandina Island by an expedition in February 2019. In May 2021, a genetic test carried out by scientists from the California Academy of Sciences confirmed that the single female tortoise discovered in 2019 is from the subspecies Chelonoidis niger phantasticus. The subspecies name has often been misspelled as phantastica, an error introduced in the 1980s when Chelonoidis was elevated to genus and mistakenly treated as feminine, an error recognized and fixed in 2017.
The giant Asian pond turtle inhabits rivers
Species of turtle
The giant Asian pond turtle inhabits rivers, streams, marshes, and rice paddies from estuarine lowlands to moderate altitudes throughout Cambodia and Vietnam and in parts of Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.
Giant tortoises are any of several species of
Several species of land tortoise
Giant tortoises are any of several species of various large land tortoises, which include a number of extinct species, as well as two extant species with multiple subspecies formerly common on the islands of the western Indian Ocean and on the Galápagos Islands.
The leopard tortoise is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in
Species of tortoise
The leopard tortoise is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape Province. It is the only extant member of the genus Stigmochelys, although in the past, it was commonly placed in Geochelone. This tortoise is a grazing species that favors semiarid, thorny to grassland habitats. In both very hot and very cold weather, it may dwell in abandoned fox, jackal, or aardvark burrows. The leopard tortoise does not dig other than to make nests in which to lay eggs. Given its propensity for grassland habitats, it grazes extensively upon mixed grasses. It also favors succulents and thistles.
The Pinta Island tortoise
Subspecies of Galápagos tortoise
The Pinta Island tortoise, also known as the Pinta giant tortoise, Abingdon Island tortoise, or Abingdon Island giant tortoise, is a recently extinct subspecies of Galápagos tortoise native to Ecuador's Pinta Island.
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines
Order of reptiles characterized by a shell
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira and Cryptodira, which differ in the way the head retracts. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling tortoises and freshwater terrapins. They are found on most continents, some islands and, in the case of sea turtles, much of the ocean. Like other amniotes they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water.
