All types of turtles. Their varieties and classification1 min read. Permian eunotosaurus - the ancestor of turtles and the ancestor of their shell Ancient turtle

There are old-timers among both people and animals. Turtles are considered the most prone to long life, especially if they live in ideal conditions - an acceptable climate, plentiful and healthy food, communication with relatives. What is the oldest turtle on the planet?

Samira

This animal belonged to the Galapagos tortoise breed. She lived to be 270 years old (according to other sources - 315), dying in 2006 in the Cairo Zoo, as they say, of old age. Samira was donated to the park by the last king of the state, Farouk, who has a weakness for exotic animals. At the end of her life, Samira practically did not move.

Advaita

The second oldest turtle in the world belonged to a species native to the Seychelles and lived to be approximately 250 years old. Back in the 19th century, English soldiers brought it from the Seychelles and presented it to Lord Clive before he went home in 1867. Earlier, in the middle of the 18th century, the lord was sent to India with the aim of establishing a colonial regime there. During his absence, the animal lived in the palace garden. In 1875, it was decided to place it in the Calcutta Zoo (although there is still no official confirmation that this is the same turtle).

In March 2006, the reptile was found dead by zoo staff. This was predictable, since Advaita had been feeling unwell for a couple of days before this. The impressive shell was preserved as a memory of the favorite of several generations of townspeople. Later, an examination was carried out to accurately determine the age of the turtle.

The exact name of the Advaita variety was "aldabra", in accordance with the atoll of the same name. This UN-protected site is home to another 150,000 of these turtles. The average weight of the animal is 120 kg.

Tui Malila

According to legend, this Madagascar radiated tortoise was presented by Captain James Cook to the head of the Aborigines of Tonga in 1773. There is no official evidence of this, but if you believe it, it turns out that at the time of her death in 1966 she was 193 years old. By this point, she was already blind and could barely eat, so zookeepers had to move her mouth directly to the feeder.

Jonathan

This huge, imposing Seychelles tortoise was brought to St. Helena in 1882 along with three other specimens, each approximately 50 years old. Jonathan, now 185 years old, lives in the garden of the home of the island's governor, Spencer Davis. In 1900, a photograph was taken of a huge turtle lying at the feet of a Boer War prisoner. In 2008, confirmation was published that this particular turtle was Jonathan, who at that time was about 70 years old.

Harietta

At one time, an elephant tortoise named Harietta was included in the Guinness Book of Records for her long life - in 2005 she was 175 years old, all of which she spent in captivity. It is not known exactly who caught her; according to one version, it was Charles Darwin, according to another - ordinary whalers.

For the last 30 years of its life, the animal was a real attraction at the Queensland Zoo.

According to scientists, only a dozen of its fellows remain in the wild.

It should be noted that the population could have been larger if Harietta had not been caught: until the end of her life she was capable of fertilization, but did not have a partner.

The amazing turtle's favorite food was hibiscus, and she also loved to eat eggplant and parsley, and was generally quite unpretentious and modest. Zoo workers talk about this.

Timothy

In April 2004, another of the honored long-lived turtles died. At that time, Timothy was 160 years old. He spent an amazing life serving as a mascot on a British warship, then sailed with soldiers to China and East India, and retired 100 years before his death. All this time, the turtle crawled in the garden around Powderham Castle, located in Devon, and during hibernation hid among the rose bushes. Then a sign was attached to it asking not to disturb. In 1926, all fans of the turtle were in for an unexpected surprise: it turned out that Timothy was a female. In general, we can say that the animal led a rather active lifestyle compared to other relatives and peers.

These are the amazing animals that lived and continue to live on our planet. I would like to believe that all representatives of the animal world will be just as lucky with their living conditions so that they can lead a long, fruitful life.

For two centuries, biologists have struggled unsuccessfully over the question of the origin of the hard turtle shell, and the discovery of the remains ancient turtle Odontochelys semitestacea only gave rise to new mysteries.

Some of the researchers even became related these reptiles with birds,

which, however, did not help in any way to get closer to solving the problem. Moreover, until recently, existing theories were practically not supported by fossil finds. Therefore, scientists could not compile a complete fossil record of turtles, and as a result, trace in detail the evolution of their ribs into shells.

Leopard tortoise hiding in its shell

A group of American researchers from Yale University and the National Museum of Natural History decided to take a different approach to solving this problem. Instead of looking for an unknown ancestor of turtles and trying to fill the 30-55 million year evolutionary gap, they decided to reexamine the fossils of the Permian eunotosaurus (Eunotosaurus africanus).

Eunatosaurus skeleton found in South Africa

According to one of the popular hypotheses, it is this lizard-like animal that is ancestor modern turtles.

The results of the study can be found in the latest issue of the scientific journal Current Biology.

Eunatosaurus skeleton helps shed light on turtle shell formation

For the first time, the remains of the Permian eunotosaurus, which lived approximately 260 million years ago, were discovered by paleontologists in the last quarter of the 19th century. And quite recently, several skeletons were found in South Africa, which, as it later turned out, belonged to this ancient animal. American researchers decided to study these finds in detail and came to rather non-trivial conclusions. So, it turned out that

In Eunotosaurus and Odontochelys, as well as proganochelis There are a number of identical features, among which the nine pairs of T-shaped ribs, growths on the perichondral bone ring and special respiratory muscles are especially notable.

This is what Tylor Lyson, the head of this study, told Gazeta.Ru, who discovered Odontochelys semitestacea, now at Yale University: “With the complete skeleton of Eunotosaurus at our disposal, we were able to make some amazing finds! The structure of its ribs is quite consistent with our theories about the evolution of the shell. However, the most amazing discoveries are yet to come: fusing more than fifty bones into a shell means completely changing the ventilation system of the lungs. And it’s very difficult to explain this: such changes have been going on for millions of years.”

From eunatosaurus to turtle

It is worth noting that the conclusions drawn by scientists are by no means final, since

There are still supporters of the origin of turtles from discosauriscus, although their theory does not have such a broad evidence base.

It will be possible to close the discussion only after finding some intermediate link in evolution between the notorious Eunotosaurus and Odontochelys.

MOSCOW, 23 Aug- RIA News. Scientists have found the remains of an unusual reptile in southern China, which allowed them to find out what the first ancestors of the Earth's turtles, who lived in future Asia at the beginning of the Jurassic period, looked like. Their findings and photographs of the remains of the "grandfather of all turtles" were presented in the journal Nature.

"The history of turtles has been one of the main mysteries in paleontology for many decades. The discovery of the remains of Eorhynchochelys greatly clarified the situation and helped us understand how these reptiles arose," said Olivier Rieppel from the Fields Museum in Chicago (USA).

As scientists note, the history of turtle evolution remains largely a mystery. All known species of extinct turtles, except for the most ancient Odontochelys and Proganochelys, already possessed a full-fledged shell. It was not clear how these reptiles turned their ribs into “armor” and acquired special respiratory muscles that allowed them to breathe without their help.

The situation did not become clearer even after the discovery of odontochelys in 2008 - the lower half of the shell was already present in this reptile. This made scientists wonder how the evolution of turtles proceeded and when their ancestors turned into a kind of modern “tortilla”.

Rieppel and his colleagues solved this problem by discovering the remains of a highly unusual creature, both similar to primitive archosaur lizards and turtles, by studying sediments from the early Jurassic period that formed in southern China about 220 million years ago.

Carrying out excavations in the town of Heshangjing in Guizhou province, scientists came across a two-meter skeleton of a reptile, finding it almost at the same point where the first remains of Odontochelys were found, but in deeper layers of sediment.

This creature, which received the name Eorhynchochelys sinensis, or "dawn-beaked tortoise of China", was noticeably different in appearance from Odontochelys and other primitive "tortillas" of antiquity. In particular, it had a very long and thin tail, and the ribs of this reptile had not yet fused into a shell.

On the other hand, they have already taken on a disc-shaped shape, and the jaws of Eorhynchochelys sinensis have turned into a kind of beak, which all turtles have today. This fact, as Rieppel notes, was a very important milestone in terms of studying the evolution of these reptiles.

In the past, many paleontologists believed that turtles were descendants of anapsids, older and more primitive lizards that did not have holes in their skulls. The discovery of Eorhynchochelys sinensis shows that this is not the case and confirms genetic studies that pointed to relationships between turtles and modern birds and crocodiles.

A turtle is an animal of the chordate type, class Reptiles, order Tortoise (Testudines). These animals have existed on planet Earth for more than 220 million years.

The tortoise got its Latin name from the word “testa”, meaning “brick”, “tile” or “clay vessel”. The Russian analogue came from the Proto-Slavic word čerpaxa, which in turn came from the modified Old Slavic word “čerpъ”, “shard”.

The turtle's masonry is covered with soil on top and compacted with blows from the plastron.

Depending on the species, the number of eggs laid can be from 1 to 200. The duration of the incubation period ranges from 2 to 3 months, but in some species this period can reach six months or more.

During the mating season, a female turtle is capable of laying several clutches.

By their way of life, turtles are solitary animals and find a mate only for the mating period, although some species tend to gather in small groups for wintering.

How to care for a turtle at home?

Keeping turtles at home, both land and aquatic, is very popular today. These animals are unpretentious, and caring for turtles is very simple, so even children can look after their pets. However, you should not choose large species of turtles, which can reach more than half a meter in length, as pets. For comfortable living of reptiles in an apartment, specially equipped aquariums, terrariums or enclosures for turtles are designed, which create conditions as close as possible to their natural habitat.

The hygiene of aquatic inhabitants consists of removing algae that has grown on the shell. Land reptiles need to be bathed daily in warm water with the addition of baking soda, washing away any remaining food and stuck soil. Overgrown tortoise claws must be shortened using a small nail file. In winter, pets need to be periodically irradiated with the rays of a quartz lamp, making a kind of sunbathing. It is necessary to ensure that the light does not shine directly into the animal’s eyes.

About feeding turtles at home is written in detail just above.

If proper care is taken at home, turtles can live up to 170 years.

• The sex of the offspring is determined by the ambient temperature during the incubation period. At lower temperatures, males appear, and at higher temperatures, females appear.
• The turtles became the first creatures to fly around the moon aboard an exploration probe launched by the Soviet Union in 1968 and return safely. This happened a few months before the Apollo 8 mission.
• In 2013, employees of the Dnepropetrovsk Agrarian University museum were shocked by an unprecedented incident. Several exhibit turtle eggs, which had been lying on shelves for many years, hatched into full-fledged offspring.
• The image of a turtle is present in the heraldry of some states.
• Unlike other reptiles, turtles are practically incapable of causing significant harm to humans. However, during the mating season, male snapping turtles may mistake a person for a rival and attack him. And male leatherback turtles can confuse a swimmer with a female, grab him with flippers and drag him into the depths.
• Turtle meat is a delicious product that can be consumed either without heat treatment or fried or boiled.
• Expensive accessories are cut from turtle shells and used to decorate women's hair.

Everyone associates turtles with the eternal slowness characteristic of these reptiles, but not everyone knows that turtles are one of the most ancient representatives of the animal world of our planet. These creatures have been living on Earth for more than 220 million years, yes, they are the same age as extinct dinosaurs. The very name of the word “turtle” comes from the ancient Slavic “shovel”, “tile”, and the Latin name for the turtle is similar – “testa” is translated as “tile”, obviously, the turtles were nicknamed this way due to the similarity of their shells with the tiles themselves.

Turtle: description, structure, characteristics. What does a turtle look like?

Perhaps it is the shell of a turtle that is its most characteristic difference, a kind of turtle calling card. For a turtle, it is, in fact, a sort of mobile home + a means of protection from enemies. The turtle shell consists of a dorsal (carapace) and abdominal (plastron) part. The carapace, in turn, consists of two parts, one of which is the internal armor, formed from bone plates, and the second is the outer part, consisting of horny scutes. In some species of turtles, the bony plates are covered with skin.

The shell of a turtle is very durable, so it can easily withstand a load exceeding the weight of the turtle itself by 200 times.

How big are turtles?

The size of a turtle and its weight differ greatly from the species, so in the turtle family there are both giant turtles with a weight of more than 900 kg and a shell size of 2.5 meters or more, and small turtles with a weight of up to 125 grams and a shell size no more than 10 cm.

Head and eyes of a turtle

The turtle's head is streamlined and medium in size. Such dimensions allow turtles, in case of danger, to quickly hide their heads inside an inaccessible shell. Although among them there are also species with large heads that either fit poorly in the shell or do not fit at all.

In land turtles, the eyes are usually directed towards the ground, while in aquatic turtles they are located closer to the top of the head and point forward and upward. The neck of many turtles is usually short.

The vision of turtles is well developed, even moreover, turtles, like people, have color vision and can distinguish colors, a gift that very few animals have. Nature also gave them excellent hearing, allowing them to hear potential enemies from a distance.

Does a turtle have teeth? How many teeth does a turtle have?

Modern turtles, unfortunately, do not have teeth, but ancient turtles had them, those that lived during the era of dinosaurs, but over time they disappeared. Then how does a turtle eat? To bite and grind food, turtles use a strong beak; the surface of this beak is covered with rough protuberances, which practically replace teeth for turtles. The tongue of turtles is short; it serves exclusively for swallowing food, but not for capturing it, and as a result, does not protrude outward.

Limbs and tails of turtles

All turtles, without exception, have four legs. But the very structure of these paws depends on the type and habitat of the turtle. The paws of land turtles have a flattened shape, they are adapted for digging soil and are quite powerful. In the process of millions of years of evolution, sea turtles' paws have turned into real flippers for the convenience of swimming in the depths of the sea.

Also, almost all turtles have a tail. The tail of a turtle, like its head, is also capable of hiding in its shell. Moreover, what is interesting is that some turtles have a real pointed spike at the tip of their tail, which serves as another means of protection from enemies.

An interesting fact: some land turtles can molt with age, and their old skin peels off and falls off, both from the paws and sometimes from the shell.

How long do turtles live?

Turtles are truly long-lived even by our human standards, because they live many times longer than us humans. So the average life expectancy of turtles in natural conditions can be 180-250 years.

The oldest turtle in the world, named Jonathan, lives on the island of St. Helena and remembers (probably) the times of Napoleon, because the former emperor of France lived here in exile for some time.

Where do turtles live?

Turtles live in all tropical areas, as well as some places with temperate climates. Sea turtles swim in the warm ocean spaces of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. They are only absent near the Arctic and Antarctica, which is natural, because all turtles love warmth.

Land turtles live in the steppes and semi-deserts of Africa, South and North America, Australia, and Asia. In Europe they can be found in the south, in a number of southern countries: Greece, Italy, Albania.

What do turtles eat in the wild?

The diet of turtles directly depends on their species, habitat and lifestyle. Land turtles are practically vegetarians; their main food is tree branches, fruits and grass, mushrooms and vegetables. However, it was not in vain that we wrote practically, since in order to maintain the protein balance in their bodies, turtles can sometimes eat various small animals such as snails, slugs and worms. Land turtles also drink water with pleasure.

But sea and freshwater turtles are already real predators, since their diet includes various small fish, snails, crustaceans (some sea turtles happily eat squid, cuttlefish and other shrimp). But the gastronomic preferences of aquatic turtles are not limited to living creatures; along with them, they also eat plant foods: algae.

Interesting fact, there are species of sea turtles that eat poisonous jellyfish. From such food, the meat of the turtles themselves, in turn, becomes poisonous, which scares potential predators away from them. This is a gastronomic remedy.

Enemies of turtles

Speaking of enemies, in natural conditions the main enemies of turtles are some birds of prey (eagles), which grab small turtles, lift them to a great height, from there they throw them onto stones and peck out their entrails from their broken shells.

Interesting fact: the great ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus died an extremely ridiculous death, he was killed by a turtle that fell on his head. The eagle, having lifted the turtle to a height, mistakenly considered the playwright's bald head to be a large stone suitable for breaking the turtle's shell.

Death of Aeschylus by an eagle and a turtle.

As for giant turtles, given their weight and size, they have no enemies in nature. Even people are increasingly treating these majestic, long-lived creatures with due respect.

When does a turtle hibernate?

Yes, turtles, like some other animals, tend to hibernate, during which all life processes in their body slow down for a while. This usually happens in winter, and hibernation for heat-loving turtles living in temperate latitudes allows them to survive the winter cold without problems.

How to determine the sex of a turtle

The gender difference in turtles is so weakly expressed in appearance that it is sometimes difficult to determine whether this turtle is a “boy” or a “girl.” However, if you approach this issue with due attention, you can identify a number of signs that help determine the sex of a turtle.

1. Shell; in females the shell has a more elongated shape than in males.

2. Plastron, also known as the lower part of the shell. If you turn the turtle over, you can see that in females the lower part of the shell (the one closest to the anus) is flat, while in males it is slightly concave.

3. Tail, males have a tail that is longer and wider at the base, while “lady turtles” have a straight and short tail.

4. Claws, in males they are usually longer on the forelimbs than in females.

Types of turtles, photos and names

The turtle family is divided into two suborders, divided by the way turtles retract their heads into their shells:

• Hidden-necked turtles fold their heads into shells in the shape of the letter S.
• Side-necked turtles hide their heads in one of their front paws.

Also, according to their habitat, all turtles are divided into land and sea turtles, which in turn are divided into freshwater turtles, living in rivers and lakes, and marine turtles, living in the seas and oceans.

Below we take a closer look at some of the most interesting turtle species.

She's a turtle. These are real giant tortoises, the weight of a Galapagos tortoise can exceed 400 kg, the length of the shell reaches up to 1.9 m. These tortoises live on the Galapagos Islands, which gave them their name.

This is already a small representative of land turtles, the length of the Egyptian tortoise shell is no more than 10 cm. They have a yellow-brown color of the shell. This turtle lives in northern Africa and the Middle East.

This is a small turtle that lives in Asia, has a rounded shell and is colored yellow-brown with dark spots. The average size of the shell of this turtle is 10 cm. It is also one of the most popular types of turtles for home keeping.

She's a turtle. It is of medium size, the length of the shell is 0.7 m, with a weight of up to 50 kg. The shell of this turtle is high and dome-shaped. The pattern of the shell shows a spotted pattern, similar to the color of a leopard. The leopard tortoise lives in Africa.

It is notable for being the smallest turtle in the world. The length of its shell is no more than 10 cm, with a weight of up to 165 grams. Lives in South Africa.

Types of freshwater turtles

This small turtle lives in waters of the USA and Canada. It has an interesting olive-green or black shell color and leathery membranes between the toes.

This small turtle lives in the waters of Europe and a number of Asian countries; the length of its shell is 35 cm and its weight is 1.5 kg. It has a brown-brown or olive-colored shell, and also a very long tail, like for a turtle.

So named due to the presence of a bright red spot on the head. The length of the shell of this turtle is 30 cm. Red-eared turtles live in both Americas, in the USA, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and several other countries.

Its characteristic feature is the presence of a cross-shaped plastron and a long tail covered with small spines. It is of medium size, the weight of this turtle reaches up to 30 kg. It lives in the USA and southern Canada; it survives the winter cold in hibernation.

Types of sea turtles

She's a real carriage. The shell of this turtle is painted in brown tones with a pattern of multi-colored spots. The front flippers of this turtle are equipped with two claws. This turtle lives in almost all oceans, with the exception of cold waters near the poles.

Notable for being the largest turtle in the world. Only the span of its front flipper-like paws reaches 2.5 meters. Its weight is more than 900 kg, and its shell length exceeds 2.6 meters. The surface of this turtle's shell is covered with a dense layer of skin (hence the name). It lives in tropical regions of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

It is also a fairly large turtle, its weight reaches up to 450 kg with a shell length of 1.5 m. It has an olive or green shell color, which, however, may have white stripes and dark spots. Its shell is small in height and oval in shape, and its surface is covered with large horny scutes. The head of this turtle is much larger than that of other relatives, and therefore does not hide inside the shell. It lives in tropical areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Reproduction of turtles

The mating season for turtles occurs at different times depending on the species. However, in all turtles it occurs in a similar way: the males stage real battles for the right to mate with the female. How do turtles fight? It’s very simple, the land ones try to turn the enemy over with a blow from their shell, and the water ones hit and bite each other with their beaks. Only after driving away a potential rival does the male turtle begin courting his “lady,” forcing her to take a position convenient for the actual mating.

Some time after mating, the female turtle lays spherical or ellipsoidal eggs, from which small turtles will be born. Turtles dig special holes for their eggs, and sometimes even use the nests of crocodiles.

From 1 to 200 eggs can be laid at a time (depending on the species). Also, the duration of the incubation period can last from 2 months to six months or more.

After hatching, small turtles begin to struggle for survival; not all of them will survive to adulthood; young turtles are an excellent target for various predators, especially birds of prey.

How to care for a turtle at home

Keeping turtles at home has recently become very popular, both land and aquatic turtles are kept. And why not, because caring for them is extremely simple, and turtles themselves are unpretentious creatures. True, all of the above is true for small turtles, since keeping large turtles in the house will not be entirely appropriate.

So, what are the rules for caring for turtles? First, in the turtle's habitat, you need to keep a thermometer to monitor the air temperature and a thermometer to monitor the water temperature (if it is an aquatic turtle in an aquarium).

The water in an aquarium for turtles must either be purified using filters, or if there are none, then changed every day. Maintaining hygiene for aquatic turtles involves removing algae from their shells. But land turtles need to be bathed daily in warm water, washing away dirt and food debris. Also, in winter, it is advisable to irradiate turtles a little with the rays of a quartz lamp, thus creating a kind of sunbathing.

What to feed a turtle at home

Turtles need to be provided with a balanced diet. Land turtles can be fed cabbage, dandelion, apple pulp, cucumbers, and tomatoes. To meet the need for protein food, they can be given boiled chicken eggs and vitamin supplements.

Feeding aquatic turtles will be a little more difficult, because they need small animals; you can feed them with dried daphnia, bloodworms, earthworms, boiled chicken or beef. They will not mind eating various insects, cockroaches, and small aquarium fish.

Adult turtles need to be fed once a day, young turtles twice a day and a so-called fasting day once a week.

• It was turtles that were the first to fly around our moon, on board an experimental research probe launched by the Soviet Union back in 1968.
• Turtle meat is an expensive and delicious product in some cuisines around the world.
• Turtles are also present in heraldry, in the depiction of the coats of arms of some cities.
• Despite the fact that turtles do not pose a danger to humans, there are exceptions, for example, male leatherback turtles can confuse a swimmer with a female, grab them with their paws and drag them to the bottom.
• The sex of turtles in the egg is determined by the ambient temperature. At lower temperatures, males are born, at higher temperatures, females are born.

Turtle, video

And finally, here is an interesting documentary about turtles.