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The turtle shell is a shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles (the order Testudines), completely enclosing all the vital organs of the turtle and in some cases even the head. [1] It is constructed of modified bony elements such as the ribs, parts of the pelvis and other bones found in most reptiles.
Diagram of the origins of the turtle body plan through the Triassic: isolated bony plates evolved to form a complete shell, in a sequence involving Pappochelys, Eorhynchochelys, Odontochelys, and Proganochelys. [19] Zoologists have sought to explain the evolutionary origin of the turtles, and in particular of their unique shells.
Diagram of a prawn, with the carapace highlighted in red. A carapace is a dorsal (upper) 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 turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.
General American usage agrees; turtle is often a general term; 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 ...
The midland and southern painted turtles seek especially quiet waters, usually shores and coves. They favor shallows that contain dense vegetation and have an unusual toleration of pollution. [103] [104] The western painted turtle lives in streams and lakes, similar to the other painted turtles, but also inhabits pasture ponds and roadside ...
Eastern box turtles have a high, domelike carapace and a hinged plastron that allows total shell closure. Their shell has a middorsal keel that smooths out with age. [5] The carapace can be of variable coloration but is normally brownish or black and accompanied by a yellowish or orangish radiating pattern of lines, spots, or blotches.
The common snapping turtle, as its name implies, is the most widespread. [4] The common snapping turtle is noted for its combative disposition when out of the water with its powerful beak-like jaws, and highly mobile head and neck (hence the specific epithet serpentina, meaning "snake-like"). In water, it is likely to flee and hide underwater ...
In contrast to their earth-bound relatives, tortoises, sea turtles do not have the ability to retract their heads into their shells. Their plastron, which is the bony plate making up the underside of a turtle or tortoise's shell, is comparably more reduced from other turtle species and is connected to the top part of the shell by ligaments without a hinge separating the pectoral and abdominal ...