Turtles: interesting facts. 50 Interesting Facts about Turtles for the Curious

Turtles are one of the slowest representatives of the animal world. Turtles are the standard of slowness, it is not in vain that they say - "Weaves like a turtle." Today, there are more than 300 species in the detachment of turtles, and there are both land and sea turtles. Distinctive feature turtles is its shell, which serves as a natural protection for them from various dangers. In this article, we will look at the most interesting facts about turtles.

1. Some species of tortoises (such as the Galapogos tortoises) can go without food and water for a year or more. Therefore, sailors used to take such turtles with them on long voyages (just in case) as live canned food.

2. Turtles are real centenarians. They can live over 150 years.

3. Steven Spielberg admitted that for the cry of velociraptors in the movie "Park Jurassic» Turtle calls were used during mating and further processed.

4. The first animals in space were dogs, but the first animals to fly around (1968) were the Central Asian steppe turtles. This choice was made based on the fact that these turtles can go without food for a long time and do not require much oxygen.

5. In 2011, at one of the airports in New York, several flights were delayed due to turtles. At that moment, more than 150 turtles crawled onto the runway, who decided to start laying their eggs here. Flights resumed only after airport officials moved all the turtles to another safe location.

6. On the scutes that make up the tortoise shell, annual concentric rings grow, thanks to which the age of the tortoise can be determined.

7. The smallest turtles (capped or namaqualand) do not exceed 10 cm, and the most huge turtles(Leatherback turtle or loot) reach 2.5 meters in length and 900 kg of weight.

8. Despite them appearance, turtles have well-developed sense organs such as touch, smell, and hearing.

9. In 1969, a tortoise rescued a man. A man fell overboard from a ship and ended up in the middle caribbean. His only salvation was a turtle that swam up to him. He grabbed her shell and thus waited for rescue for about 15 hours until another ship picked him up. While he waited all this time, the turtle stayed strictly on the surface and did not swim or dive anywhere until he was rescued.

10. Turtles are one of the most ancient creatures that lived 100-200 million years ago and have survived to this day. Modern turtles are not much different from ancient turtles, but still one thing important difference yes - ancient turtles had teeth.

11. Despite all the good nature of turtles, there are species that can attack a large animal or even a person. For example, cases are known when caiman turtles bit off the toes of divers while they were in the water.

13. In 1960, a tortoise named Chester ran away from the owners. At that time, no one found it, but 35 years later (in 1995), this turtle was found by the owners' neighbors on their site, which was located just 700 meters from its former home. Those. in 35 years, the turtle traveled less than a kilometer. Although who knows? Maybe she has already seen the whole world and decided to go back). How did you know it was Chester? It had a white stripe on its shell.

The most ancient reptiles today are considered turtles. First known to science the turtle appeared 220 million years ago, but it had only the lower part of the shell, it also had teeth, although today's turtles do not have them. The sizes of prehistoric turtles are huge - the diameter of the shell reached 3.6 meters. The largest turtle that has ever lived on our planet is considered. Found skeleton ancient turtle reached more than 4 meters. The estimated mass of Archelon was about 2.2 tons.

Archelon remains found

Today is the most big turtle- leatherback turtle - the size of its shell is more than 2 meters in diameter. Elephant is one of the land giant turtles - in width, the size of the shell reaches more than 1 meter.

The leatherback turtle is a giant among reptiles

A distinctive feature of turtles from other animals is their shell. This is real armor. It is able to withstand a weight of 200 times the mass of the reptile itself. In the event of a threat, the turtle draws its head and limbs into the shell, and not every predator can break such armor.

Turtles are also long-lived - almost all of these reptiles live more than 100 years. In 2006, the long-lived Galapagos tortoise Harriet died at the zoo. An interesting fact is that it was brought to Europe by the famous scientist Charles Darwin. The tortoise died at the age of 250.

Harriet - long-lived turtle

The opinion that turtles are very slow is considered erroneous. In fact this is not true. Leatherback turtles can swim at a speed of 35 km/h, but on land they are slower and move at a speed of 15 km/h. Movement Speed land turtles temperature dependent environment. The colder it is, the slower the turtle will crawl. The main factor in the slowness of turtles is the structure of their body. Short limbs can hardly carry a bulky and heavy shell with high speed Therefore, turtles symbolize slowness and clumsiness.

Sea turtles have unique ability They are able to hold their breath for 10 hours and 14 minutes. This is a record among vertebrates.

The most aggressive and dangerous are the caiman turtles. They attack snakes and waterfowl. There have been cases when cayman turtles have bitten off the fingers of divers. At the same time, turtles have no teeth at all, but they have a sharp and strong beak that can gnaw off a piece of wood. Aggression and bloodthirstiness are shown soft-bodied turtles Trionics. A hungry flock of these reptiles can kill a large animal.

Cayman turtle

Turtles are able to fast for a long time. The elephant tortoise can go without food for 18 months. Many years ago, seafarers took turtles with them on a voyage to feed them - like canned food, and you don’t need to feed them.

The tortoise shell is made up of keratinized scutes. Concentric rings form on them every year. From them, like trees, you can determine the age of the turtle.

Concentric rings on a tortoise shell

Turtles are common on almost all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. They are able to survive in any conditions, but they need warm water to reproduce.

Today, about half of all turtle species are on the verge of extinction. They are exterminated due to their use in cooking and folk medicine. One in three turtles die as a result of fishing.

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In particular, Red-eared turtle. This species is more popular among those who want to settle an amphibian animal in their aquarium. She got her name for the bright red stripes or spots on her head, and her ears themselves are just not red.

But the conversation in the article will not be about the content of these representatives freshwater world, but about the most interesting and little known facts from their life.

Don't be a singer...

With his hiss, the turtle scares off a potential enemy, in her opinion. Since hissing is one of the methods of protection, and there is no host recognition function, it hisses almost every time you reach out to it. You can imagine what it would be like if her vocal cords could make sounds! It's better to be silent. Or hissing softly to himself.

Long summer to you...

Surely everyone knows that turtles are long-lived. The red-eared turtle in captivity lives up to 30-40 years. But there are cases where good care, life expectancy ranged from 50 to 70 years!

It is quite possible to bequeath your red-eared turtle to children ...

This color is not in fashion today. . .

Reptiles often change their color. Red-eared turtles are no exception. Studies have shown that depending on the environment in which they live, their color changes. The process is slower than, for example, in the same chameleons. But a fact is a fact! Our turtle adapts to the changed living conditions.

Interesting video: Red-eared tortoise caught on a donk in the Desnogorsk reservoir

Try to catch up...

The popular opinion about the super-slowness of turtles is not affirmative. Yes, they move measuredly and decorously, but only under certain conditions. They become more agile not only in water, but also on land they can develop sufficient speed. And even overcome obstacles with ease.

So that in races will be able to participate adequately.

Video: Red-eared Turtle Tortilla

Don't come near us...

Not always the turtle is a cute, funny pet creature. Often they are not so harmless. Moreover, aggression is shown first. Having no teeth

they can grab a finger quite strongly when feeding and even injure! Nature has endowed the turtle with well-developed jaw muscles.

And at the same time strong sharp claws on the paws. While she gets used to one hand, scratches are guaranteed.

Interesting video: Red-eared slider turtle feeding and

And finally...

Red-eared turtles love to bask in the sun, warm stones. Plop down from these stones in a bath or some small pond.

Leave them unattended open space not worth it. They will scatter in an unknown direction, and are unlikely to return back.

There is an attested fact, like a red-eared turtle that escaped from its water park summer evening and declared missing, was found two years later, in an abandoned old well. Alive and unharmed and even grown up!

What speaks of the unprecedented endurance of these little brave creatures.

But her friend has not been found to this day ...

May 23 is Turtle Day. The tradition began in 2000 at the initiative of the American Turtle Society.

The purpose of the holiday is to draw attention to the conservation of the population, because 228 out of 328 species are listed in the IUCN Red List, 135 are endangered, and 6 are considered extinct.

Turtles suffer from fishing. In the 20th century alone, the green turtle population off the coast of Somalia dwindled to a few hundred.

Every year, fishermen caught about 4,000 individuals. In some Asian countries, such as China and Vietnam, turtle dishes are considered a delicacy.

In Cuba, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, variations of turtle eggs are part of the national cuisine. Fishing for sea turtles is common in the Caribbean to this day.

There are practically no poisonous turtles in the world, which is why their meat is so popular. Only box (land), hawksbill and leatherback (sea) turtles can be poisonous because they feed on poisonous mushrooms and jellyfish, respectively.

Turtles remember people's faces, and also understand intonation. For example, affectionate speech makes animals stretch their necks and listen, while rude and harsh speech makes them hide in their shells.

Large sea turtles understand dolphins. They come to the Nicobar Islands to lay eggs, but do not go ashore until they receive a permission signal from cetaceans.

A bog turtle can live without food for 5 years. For comparison, emperor penguin can starve for 130 days while hatching eggs, and a camel does without food and water for 45 days.

During the mating season, giant elephant turtles they roar very loudly, and the green ones sing love songs underwater.

Some species of turtles have claws on their paws, with which males scratch females during mating games.

The formation of the sex of the turtle is affected by temperature: at low temperatures, males hatch more often, at high females.

Most turtles die in the first months of life, as they are vulnerable without a shell. It takes several months to form. And the larger the individual becomes, the less predators threaten it.

For example, for a large sea ​​turtle even a meeting with a shark is not dangerous. Majority freshwater turtles As children, they eat food of animal origin, and as adults they become vegetarians.

Turtles live on all continents except Antarctica. But at the same time, only one species tolerates the cold - Blanding's turtle. Representatives of this species feel great under the ice of the Great Lakes.

Turtles hold the record for longevity among vertebrates. They can live for two centuries, for example, some researchers believe that the giant tortoise Aiwata lived for 250 years, and its relative Kaki for at least 146 years.

The elephant tortoise Harietta lived to be 175 years old, and the Madagascar radiant tortoise Tiu Malila died at 188 years old. Rings on the shields of the shell tell about the age of the turtle.

Some fall in love at first sight, while others are disgusted. If at first glance these little animals seem quite simple, do not delude yourself, because in fact they are fraught with many secrets. This article will tell you about the most interesting facts about turtles - silent and sedate!

1. World Turtle Day is celebrated on May 23rd. If we talk about the age of turtles, then we can say with confidence that these silent creatures appeared on planet Earth before birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Turtles first appeared on the planet about 200 million years ago. Of course, turtle ancestors differed significantly from modern representatives, because the ancient turtles could not hide their heads in their shells and had teeth.

2. We know about turtles that they are long-lived animals. For most turtles, 100 years is not the limit, because at this time they lead active image life and even mate. For example, the world knows a long-lived turtle that lived about 50 years in the wild and another 152 years in a zoo.

3. Turtles live in all parts of the planet, except for Antarctica. These creatures prefer warm countries, however, there is a species of turtles, whose representatives are very fond of swimming in cold waters and even under ice. This species is called Blandinga, and these turtles live in the area of ​​the American Great Lakes.

4. Turtles do not have a specific size, because you can find both dwarf turtles and giant turtles. So, the smallest turtle grows up to only 10 centimeters, and the largest can reach 2.5 meters in length and weigh more than 900 kilograms.

5. Everyone knows turtles as very slow creatures. In fact, this is far from the truth, since turtles are slow only on land. While in the water, turtles can swim at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour. Interestingly enough, turtles simply love to dive and do it quite often. A huge leatherback turtle can dive to a depth of 1200 meters.

6. Perhaps many will be interested to know what a turtle shell is. In fact, the shell consists of 60 bones that are interconnected. This bony part is covered on top with small shields that additionally protect the turtle. If you count the annual concentric rings on a turtle's shell, you can determine its age.

7. Turtles have excellent eyesight, excellent hearing, a good sense of smell and touch. The tortoise shell contains a large number of nerve endings. If turtle long time sees the same person, over time she begins to recognize him by smell or appearance.

8. The most beautiful is the star turtle. You can meet this "beauty queen" in India. Shell shields star turtle very similar to small black pyramids, and bright yellow stripes stand out very beautifully against their background.

9. Turtles are able to help people. It's proven interesting case that took place in 1969. A man fell overboard and almost drowned in the Caribbean Sea, if not for the turtle. The man grabbed the animal and hung on it for about 15 hours. All this time, the turtle stood peacefully and waited for rescuers, although it could easily plunge into the water. The man released the animal only when a ship pulled up to help him.

10. Another interesting case about turtles occurred on June 29, 2011 at one of the airports in New York. Dozens of flights were delayed, and the turtles were to blame. The animals crawled onto the runway and did not even think about leaving. About a hundred turtles decided to lay their eggs right on the territory of the New York airport. By the way, such cases are not isolated, since in mating season Turtles often lay their eggs in human territory.

Here are some interesting facts about turtles we learned!