Tortoises, turtles, and terrapins.
<name key="Paul Bellamy">
page 1 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ index ]
Tortoises, turtles, and terrapins.
(order <reg>chelonia</reg>.)
By <name key="Paul Bellamy">
page 2 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ index ]
Contents.
Page 1. Contents.
Page 2. Introduction.
Page 3. Green turtle
Page 4. Tortoises
Page 5. Tortoises (continued)
Page 6. Terrapins
Page 7. Turtles.
Page 8. A Shell.
Page 9. Plight of the tortoise.
Page 10. Bibliography.
<figure>
1.
page 3 [ next page ] [previous page ] [ index ]
Introduction.
Tortoises are a prehistoric race of animals which go back 180 million years. This project contains information on all the <reg>chelonia</reg> family. (The <reg>chelonia</reg> family is the family of tortoises turtles and terrapins.)
I first decided to write this project when I heard about snapping terrapins. 60 centimetres of sharp claws and snapping jaws. Lethal! Find it on page 6.
<figure>
snapping terrapin
2.
page 4 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ index ]
Green turtle.
Green turtles like warm water and only come on land to lay eggs. They even mate at sea!
It is one of the largest sea turtles and used to be common. It is now rare.
Did you know that green turtles may live for twenty years.
Green turtles are awkward on land yet graceful swimmers.
Breeding.
As I said earlier green turtles mate at sea and come on land to lay. They hide the eggs in the sand so predators don't find them. When they hatch, the turtles head towards the light of the sun reflecting on the water. Sometimes they <sic>got</sic> to other lights like houses and discos. (1)
<figure>
1. I like to move it! Be-bop-a-bop-a! <sic>sometings</sic> wrong!
2. 'Ulp
3. yes
Some get eaten by crabs and gulls (2) and some make it. (3.) The females return to the place they were born to breed.
How long can a turtle stay under water?
A. 25 minutes
2. 2 hours
C. 5 hours
D. <reg>9 hours</reg>
(answer at page bottom.)
<figure>
That one! How !?! ?!? 2 years thanks to the scuba! ? What the ...? Oh boy
<inverted>Answer: C </inverted>
3.
page 5 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ index ]
Tortoises
Tortoise beetle. (well it is named after a tortoise!)
This is the smallest tortoise in the world at <sic>at</sic> only 7-10 mm.
It lives in <reg>Europe</reg>, in summer. It is a leaf beetle and very hard to see at rest on leaves.
<figure>
Tortoise beetle
Tortoises are very shy. If scared they will hide in their shell and won't come out until the danger has passed.
Did you know: that young <reg>tortoises'</reg> shells are brighter than <reg>adults'</reg> shells?
Hibernation.
In November, in the countries of Europe tortoises start to hibernate. They dig holes in the ground so no frost can reach them. Here they hibernate until March.
Enemies
Tortoises have many <reg>enemies</reg>. The most effective is the golden eagle. It picks up the tortoise and carries it in to the air. Then it drops the tortoise on to a rock smashing the shell. Then the eagle can have his meal. The greek <reg>playwright</reg> Aeschylus got killed when a tortoise got dropped on his head, by an eagle.
4.
page 6 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ index ]
<figure>
Eagle
Rock
Aeschylus
Tortoise
Help
Donk
oof!
missed, typical!
Dead
caw
Also dead
Just as good.
Thought
The <reg>Playwright</reg>blitz
Young tortoises can be eaten by magpies, ravens, foxes, dogs, and, when they hide in the grass snakes get them.
Did you know: that as soon as a young tortoise hatches it can look after itself? And that the oldest tortoise on record was 152 when he died?
True or False.
Tortoises like it when it is very hot. (Answer at the bottom of page.)
Giants
The largest tortoises in the world are the <reg>Galapagos</reg> giants. These can grow to over a metre in length!
I was once bitten by a tortoise called Tommy.
<NOTE desc="following is up-side down at bottom of page">
<inverted>False. They like moderate temperature.</inverted>
5.
page 7 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ index ]
Terrapins.
Snapping terrapin. (Will take a snap at anything.)
This animal is one of the most dangerous in the order chelonia. An adult can bite through a human's hand!
The 'snapper', so it is called, is far removed from the cute red-necked terrapins we keep in the <reg>aquarium</reg>.
Its harmless looking jaws are aptly-equipped with a flesh cutting beak.
Fact File
Breeding
Laying: up to 83 eggs.
Incubation:2-3 months.
Size
<reg>Length</reg>: up to 80 cm.
Weight: up to 25 Kg.
6.
page 8 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ index ]
Turtles
Hidden-necked turtle (Has a revolting smell.)
The hidden-necked turtle was once common in the tributaries of the Amazon, but the Indians of that part of the country hunted them for food nearly wiping out the population of that part of the world. <reg>Its</reg> African cousin is having better luck though. All hidden-necked turtles are carnivorous.
Fact File (hidden-necked turtle.)
Breeding:
Laying:15 to 20 oval eggs which measure 38 x 18 mm.
Incubation: 50-60 days
Size.
Weight:900 to 1600g.
<reg>Length</reg>: 25-30cm.
Fact File (Turtles in <reg>general</reg>)
Largest: the leatherback turtle can grow to 2.1 metres, and weigh 360Kg.
Fastest: The Pacific leatherback turtle has been clocked at 22 m.p.h.!
7.
page 9 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ index ]
A shell
A tortoise never grows too big for its shel., They grow together. The shell is made of lots of plates. The outside is horn and the inside is bone.
How to tell the age of a tortoise.
Telling the age of a tortoise is like telling the age of a tree. You count how many rings on a plate of the shell. if <reg>it's</reg> got five <reg>it's</reg> five. When a tortoise is twenty or over it has twenty rings.
Did you know? That the shell on the stomach of an adult tortoise was three <reg>millimetres</reg> thick?? The sides are five <reg>millimetres</reg> thick.
<figure>
8.
page 10 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ index ]
Plight of the tortoise.
In many countries tortoises are becoming rare.
Giant tortoises
One of the worst examples of this is the Galapagos tortoise. It only lives on a few islands off the coast of South America. They were hunted for food and out of two hundred thousand only fifteen thousand are left. Blackpool zoo has a giant tortoise
Pet trade
Many tortoises were kept as pets in Britain. Many were taken from the wild. So many that they became endangered. Now the 'Pet trade' has stopped tortoises are making a <reg>comeback</reg>.
Egg eaters.
Tortoise eggs are food for many animals. The hedgehog is one as are foxes, polecats, squirrels, martins, and rats. None of these are <reg>too</reg> dangerous to the population.
<figure>
Enemies:see tortoises.
page 11 [ previous page ] [ index ]
Bibliography.
Little ark magazine.
Wildlife factfile.
A family of tortoises [unclear] Hansen.
Groovy Greeks Terry Deary.
Little cards <name key="Year 5 teacher"> gave us.
10.