They are freshwater animals and look very cute in appearance. They protrude their small but elongated necks and encase it when disturbed. Yes we are talking about the crazy animal tortoise. They are reptiles and are the members of family Testudinidae. They are land dwelling animals and resemble their marine cousins the turtles. Like the turtles they are protected by a hard shell. The outermost covering of the shell is called as the carapace and the inner part is called as the plastron. Both the carapace and the plastron are connected together by a bridge. Tortoises bear both exoskeleton and the endoskeleton. Their size varies from few centimeters to two centimeters. They are diurnal and reclusive animals.
The term tortoise is used by the biologists only for the members of the family Testudinidae. They are different from turtles as they lack webbed feet or flippers. The female tortoises dig nests in the burrows of the ground and lay about 30 eggs. The female prefers to lay eggs in the night and after egg laying she covers the egg cluster with sand, soil and organic matter. The female do not cares for the eggs late on after covering them. Eggs take 60-120 days to hatch. The hatching period depends upon the species. The egg size is also governed by the size of the mother and is determined by the cloacal opening of the mother present between the carapace and the plastron. The plastron bears a V-shaped notch below the tail that facilitates the escape of eggs. The baby tortoises use their egg tooth to break the egg shell. Embryonic egg sac acts as a source of nutrition for the baby tortoises for 3-7 days. The food that the young tortoises prefer is completely different from the adults. It can seem very interesting that the juveniles of the herbivorous species feed on small insects and worms.
There are many myths about the lifespan of the tortoises. According to one such myth by counting the number of the concentric rings over the carapace the age of the tortoise can be determined same as in case of trees by counting the number of the growth rings we can get the age of the tree. The growth of tortoise strictly depends on the availability of food and water. The tortoise that feeds on regular food supply will grow faster as compared to that which dwells in the desert without food supply. The life span that has been recorded for the tortoises is about 150 years and for this reason they symbolize longevity in the Chinese culture.
Sexual dimorphism is present in some species of tortoises but not in all. In some species the females have longer protruding neck plates in comparison to males and also in some species the claws are longer in females. Some biologists believe that males grow faster in comparison to females and females grow slower and larger in size. The plastron of the females is also curved inwards in order to facilitate for reproduction. The best way to identify a sex whether it is male or female one must look at the tail. The tail of the female is very short in comparison of the male. The giant tortoises walk very slowly with a speed of only 0.17 miles per hour.
Tortoises dwelling on land are herbivorous and prefer to consume grasses, weeds, leaves, fruits, flowers. Tortoises kept as pets require special combination of food which must include wild grasses, weeds and certain flowers. Too much proteinaceous diet is harmful for them as it hampers their growth and causes medical problems. The pet tortoises should be handled with care as the type and the amount of food varies with the species. A veterinarian must be consulted before keeping tortoises as pets.
Tortoises are lovable creatures so must be loved.
No comments:
Post a Comment