tortoise

This star tortoise comes from Sri Lanka. It can be found in the Yala (Ruhuna) National Park, on the coast southeast of Colombo.

Reptile of the order Chelonia, family Testudinidae, with the body enclosed in a hard shell. Tortoises are related to the terrapins and turtles, and range in length from 10 cm/4 in to 150 cm/5 ft. The shell consists of a curved upper carapace and flattened lower plastron joined at the sides; it is generally more domed than that of turtles; their hind legs are stumpy and columnar; the front legs are often shovel-shaped for digging. The head and limbs are withdrawn into it when the tortoise is in danger. Most land tortoises are herbivorous, feeding on plant material, and have no teeth. The mouth forms a sharp-edged beak. They occur in the warmer regions of all continents except Australia. Tortoises have been known to live for 150 years.

The sex of a tortoise is difficult to determine, except when the female is on heat. Mating can last up to five hours. Eggs are laid in warm earth in great numbers, and are not incubated by the mother.

Best known in the pet trade is the small spur-thighed tortoise Testudo graeca, found in Asia Minor, the Balkans, and North Africa. It was extensively exported, often in appalling conditions, until the 1980s, when strict regulations were introduced to prevent its probable extinction. The giant tortoises of the Galapagos in the Pacific and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean may reach a length of 150 cm/5 ft and weigh over 225 kg/500 lbs, and can yield about 90 kg/200 lbs of meat; hence its almost complete extermination by sailors in passing ships.

North American tortoises are represented by four species of gopher tortoises (genus Gophenus) living in the southwestern USA and Mexico).

Tortoiseshell is the semi-transparent shell of the hawksbill turtle.