Tortoises or land turtles Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield. "Turtle" may either refer to the Testudines as a whole, or to particular Testudines which make up a form taxon that is not monophyletic—see also sea turtle, terrapin, tortoise, and the are land-dwelling reptiles Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, generally "cold-blooded" amniotes whose skin is usually covered in scales or scutes. They are tetrapods (either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors) and lay amniotic eggs, in which the embryo is surrounded by a membrane called the amnion. Modern of the family of Testudinidae, order Testudines Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield. "Turtle" may either refer to the Testudines as a whole, or to particular Testudines which make up a form taxon that is not monophyletic—see also sea turtle, terrapin, tortoise, and the. Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles The superfamily Chelonioidea has a worldwide distribution; sea turtles can be found in all oceans except for the polar regions.[citation needed] Some species travel between oceans. The Flatback turtle is found solely on the northern coast of Australia, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron The plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a turtle or tortoise, what one would call the belly, similar in composition to the carapace; with an external layer of horny material divided into plates called scutes and an underlying layer of interlocking bones, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise has both an endoskeleton An endoskeleton is an internal support structure of an animal, composed of mineralized tissue. In three phyla and one subclass of animals, endoskeletons of various complexity are found: Chordata, Echinodermata, Porifera, and Coleoidea. An endoskeleton may function purely for support , but often serves as an attachment site for muscle and a and an exoskeleton An exoskeleton is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal endoskeleton of, for example, a human. Some animals, such as the tortoise, have both an endoskeleton and an exoskeleton. In popular usage, many of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Tortoises can vary in size from a few centimeters to two meters. Tortoises tend to be diurnal Diurnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the day and sleeping at night. Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular (active primarily during twilight, i.e., at dusk and dawn). Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects and birds. The diurnal pattern is often controlled animals with tendencies to be crepuscular Crepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is thus in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright moonlit night. Many depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive animals.
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The Desert Sun
As if the endangered desert tortoise doesn't have enough environmental stress in its life with invasive plants it can't eat replacing its main diet of ...
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