### animal | vertebrate | reptile:

Turtle
* All Turtles are solitary animals that only get together during mating season.
* All turtles are members of the scientific class Reptilia
  - tootheless, but have a sharp-edged beak so that they can eat
  - vegetarians
  - belong to the class of backboned animals known as reptiles
  - have good eyesight and hearing
* All turtles lay eggs and begin life as vulnerable prey items for a vast array of predators
  - never look back
  - on land
  - eggs, none produce live young
* All turtles lay their eggs on land, and none show parental care
  - land, most in a nest that they dig themselves using their hind feet
* Every turtle has a body cavity called a cloaca located near the base of the tail, on the underside.
* Here are some web sites about turtles, their history, behavior and conservation.
* Many turtles also burrow into the mud and become inactive during the colder months
  - use the moist surfaces of their cloaca for gas exchange
  - are killed when they get caught in fishing nets
  - burrow in the mud at the bottom of the pond or lake
  - fall victim to floating debris, which they either ingest or become entangled in
  - follow what is known as the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre
  - have powerful jaws, with which they tear food and capture prey
  - move between land and water
  - partly compensate for the rigidity of the body by having exceptionally flexible necks
  - show a stereotypic nest-digging behavior
  - spend all or most of their lives in fresh water
* Most turtles absorb oxygen.
* Most turtles are able to draw their head and limbs into their shell for protection
  - distinguished by carapaces
  - evolved from animals
  - inside oceans
* Most turtles are located in coves
  - ponds
  - on beaches
  - member of families
* Most turtles avoid crabs
  - people
  - become adults
  - blend in with their surroundings
  - bury their eggs in ground, under debris, or in burrows
* Most turtles carry organisms
  - shells
  - catch terrestrial prey
  - collect food
* Most turtles come from eggs
  - into direct contact
  - depend on food
  - destroy vegetation
* Most turtles develop lungs
  - skin
* Most turtles dig chambers in which the eggs are laid
  - grass
  - holes
  - one nest in the ground, lay eggs in the the hole, and cover it with dirt
  - pits
* Most turtles eat algas
  - flowers
  - lettuce
  - plants
  - seaweed
  - small insects
  - snails
  - vegetables
* Most turtles emerge from eggs
  - lakes
  - regions
  - engage in behavior
* Most turtles enter ground
  - into hibernation
* Most turtles excrete urea
  - waste
  - fed on such diets die within a few months from multiple dietary deficiencies
  - feed in water
* Most turtles feed on diets
* Most turtles find food
  - in ponds
* Most turtles float in ponds
  - follow ocean current
  - gain mass
* Most turtles get diseases
  - give birth to turtles
* Most turtles go into open water
* Most turtles go to bays
* Most turtles graze on plants
  - underwater plants
  - grow shells
* Most turtles has-part backs
  - beaks
  - bones
  - flippers
  - glands
  - guts
  - muscles
  - organs
  - sphincters
  - toes
* Most turtles have behavior
  - black carapaces
  - eyelids
  - eyesights
  - good eyesights
  - habitats
  - hard shells
  - layers
  - leathery skin
* Most turtles have long life
  - muscle layers
  - nest behavior
  - oval shells
  - rigid shells
  - shape carapaces
  - size
  - skeletons
  - soft shells
  - specific habitats
  - temperature
* Most turtles have thin layers
  - upper eyelids
  - values
  - hear sound
  - hide in grass
* Most turtles inhabit different environments
  - freshwater habitats
  - killed are juveniles and sub-adults
  - lack teeth
* Most turtles leave tracks
  - trails
  - live at habitats
* Most turtles live for a long time, and diamondbacks are no exception
  - years
* Most turtles live in areas
  - climates
  - rivers
  - seasonal climates
  - seawater
  - streams
  - swamp
  - wetland
* Most turtles live on continents
  - over years
  - up to years
* Most turtles love food
  - fruit
* Most turtles maintain body temperature
* Most turtles make eggs
  - homes
  - journeys
* Most turtles migrate to lakes
* Most turtles move into areas
  - coastal areas
  - throats
  - never make it to adulthood
* Most turtles occupy large ranges
  - specific niches
  - thermal niches
* Most turtles occur in environments
  - groups
  - large water bodies like rivers, canals, and large pools in parks
  - play in ponds
* Most turtles possess beaks
  - blood
  - hook beaks
  - sacs
* Most turtles prefer ecosystems
  - food diets
  - live food diets
  - open oceans
  - warm water
* Most turtles produce toxic waste
  - range in size
* Most turtles reach ages
  - length
  - receive food
  - rely on ability
* Most turtles require air
  - humidity
  - light
  - multiple types of habitats to fulfill all of their survival needs
  - proteins
  - spectrum light
  - vitamins
  - rest on marsh
  - retract limbs
* Most turtles return to beaches
  - coasts
  - shores
  - search for food
* Most turtles seek food
  - seize prey
* Most turtles share instinct
  - nest instinct
* Most turtles sit in environments
* Most turtles sit on bottoms
  - nests
  - spend their lives on or near the land or in fresh water
  - strand on shores
* Most turtles submerge heads
* Most turtles survive for years
  - on vegetation
* Most turtles swim in oceans
  - thrive in water
* Most turtles undertake lengthy migration
* Most turtles use beaches
  - front legs
  - nest beaches
  - same nest beaches
  - tongues
* Most turtles visit beaches
  - walk on feet
  - wear shells
  - weigh grams
* Read about the care and husbandry of turtles and tortoises.
* Some turtles also die from eating trash which they mistake for food
  - feed on seagrasses and algae
* Some turtles appear in islands
* Some turtles are carnivores, while others are herbivores
  - distinguished from turtles
  - inside ponds
  - known to bury themselves in soil
* Some turtles are located in Wisconsin
  - on islands
* Some turtles avoid men
  - can live for more than a year without food
* Some turtles carry bacteria
  - infection
  - pathogen
  - salmonella bacteria
  - salmonellas
  - unusual pathogen
  - viruses
  - catch in net
* Some turtles come from Asia
  - out of water
  - consume fish
  - contain salt
* Some turtles cross roads
  - runways
  - depend on beaches
* Some turtles develop kidney problems
  - permeable skin
  - die of dehydration
* Some turtles die within few months
* Some turtles dig nests
  - drown or are killed when caught in fishermen's nets or on long-lines
* Some turtles eat animals
  - berries
  - bread
  - bullfrogs
  - crickets
  - dead animals
  - jellyfish
  - larvae
  - mangroves
  - perches
  - plankton
  - small mammals
  - worms
  - emerge at nights
* Some turtles emerge from beaches
  - pasture
  - sand
* Some turtles enter hibernation
  - resemble hibernation
  - escape heat
* Some turtles feed fish
  - in bays
* Some turtles feed on cayman island turtle farms
  - mosquito larvae
  - nettles
* Some turtles feed on sea nettles
  - sponges
  - shellfishes
  - find on beaches
  - float in oceans
  - follow light
  - freeze to death
* Some turtles get light
  - go dormant over winter
  - graze in regions
* Some turtles has-part noses
  - tails
  - tissue
* Some turtles have a keel down the centre of their carapace
  - decades
  - dietary requirements
  - different dietary requirements
  - dishes
  - domes
  - few natural enemies
  - food dishes
  - front flippers
  - illnesses
  - many natural predators
  - middles
* Some turtles have natural enemies
  - relatives
  - shapes
  - shells with bright markings or unusual shapes
  - small glands
  - walls
  - hibernate during winter
  - hibernate, without breathing, in the mud at the bottom of the pond
  - hide heads
* Some turtles hide in ground
  - weeds
  - their heads by bending their necks sideways
* Some turtles hold breaths
  - underwater breaths
* Some turtles inhabit areas
  - quiet pools
  - shallow pools
  - invade gardens
  - lack diversity
  - lay their eggs before biologists arrive
* Some turtles leave oceans
  - live for centuries
* Some turtles live in Africa
  - Connecticut
  - Florida
  - Hawaii
  - Illinois
  - Mexico
  - Oman
  - aquaria
  - counties
  - houses
  - lagoons
* Some turtles live on beaches
  - land while other turtles live in the sea
* Some turtles live only in water, some live both on land and in water
  - on land, but others spend almost their entire life in the sea
  - to ages
  - where it is warm all the time
  - look like fins
* Some turtles lose flippers
* Some turtles migrate to beaches
* Some turtles occur in Africa
  - gulfs
  - worlds
* Some turtles play in oceans
  - possess eggs
* Some turtles prefer beaches
  - patches
* Some turtles produce multiple growth zones per year
  - soluble urea
* Some turtles reach maturity
  - sexual maturity
* Some turtles release eggs
* Some turtles rely on cutaneous respiration from around the cloaca during underwater hibernation
* Some turtles require beaches
  - phosphorus
  - sunlight
  - rest on bottoms
* Some turtles return to aquaria
  - nest sites
  - same nest sites
* Some turtles seek mates
  - shelter
  - seize fish
* Some turtles share beaches
  - long beaches
  - mile beaches
* Some turtles sit in nests
* Some turtles sit on logs
  - stones
* Some turtles stand in rivers
  - stay under water
  - steal food
* Some turtles survive extinction
  - several years
* Some turtles swallow jellyfish
  - their food hole
* Some turtles swim in aquaria
  - tanks
  - thrive in environments
  - transmit viruses
* Some turtles use claws
  - the same nesting spot year after year
  - ventilate their cloaca and exchange gases over the surface of special cloacal bursae
* Some turtles visit bays
  - reefs
  - wash up on beaches
* Some turtles weigh lbs
  - pounds
* also eat turtle food
  - enjoy basking, which is our equivalent of sunbathing
  - feed on sick or dead fish or other animals
  - find our naturally sandy lakefront to be a perfect place to lay their eggs
* also have a good sense of eyesight and smell
  - an important place in human mythology, religion, and folk medicine
  - more cachet than snail darters or or other ugly small fish species
  - their value in helping organizations change
  - very small brains
  - migrate from the lake to burrows on land
  - rely on wave cues to swim offshore, moving toward approaching waves
  - take advantage of the warm sandbars to lay their eggs
  - tend to relieve themselves in the water, so monitor it and clean it when necessary
* always return to where they are born to lay their eggs.
* appear today much as they appeared hundreds of millions of years ago
  - worldwide on land and in oceans with temperate to warm environments
* are a Darug totem and a symbol of survival
  - green animal with a hard brown and green shell
  - actually a rather unsocial animal
  - also able to distinguish some colors, and they do have a sense of smell
* are among the longest-lived vertebrates
  - most popular offerings at live animal markets in the United States
  - oldest living animals on earth
  - an endangered species and are some times called the nice animals of bodies of water
* are an important component of our marine ecosystems and have great economic value
  - link to the past history of life on earth
  - ancient life forms
  - bands
  - believed by some to be surviving Anapsids
  - browsers, mostly
  - built for swimming, so they appear very slow and clumsy when emerging from the sea
  - capable of pets
  - characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell
  - chelonians
  - cold blooded, and temperature in the ocean water column can vary a lot
  - cold-blooded animals and thus rely on external heat to warm up their bodies
* are common as are varieties of the colorful Micronesian reef fish
  - inhabitants of the reef
  - covered with a shell of bone
  - diapsids
  - distinctive because they live inside shells
  - ectothermic animals
  - famous for the slowness of their movements
  - fictional characters
* are found in almost all temperature and tropical regions of the world
  - around the world
  - freshwater, saltwater or land-dwelling with more than two hundred species
  - fully mature when their shell length is eight inches long
  - highly migratory and therefore require protection in all phases of their life cycle
  - in extreme danger of becoming extinct
  - like little tanks with claws and a hearty appetite
* are located in boxs
  - long-lived and are slow to reach maturity
* are messy eaters so it is best to move the turtle to a separate feeding tank
  - nomads of the sea, able to navigate over long distances and still find their way home
  - often difficult to see on the road due to their darkly colored shells and low profile
  - omnivorous
  - particularly vulnerable to discarded litter
  - perhaps the most regularly hunted type of reptile
  - plentiful, especially the Hawksbill
  - potential flying objects
  - quadrupeds
* are reptiles and are internally similar to lizards and crocodiles
  - their surroundings determine their body temperature
  - with short, broad bodies enclosed in a bony shell
* are reptiles, sensu stricto
  - the same as lizards, geckos and snakes
  - simply one species in the animal kingdom
  - slow and take their time at things
  - susceptible to pneumonia and other respiratory ailments
  - swimmers
* are the beautiful clowns of the ocean
  - least specialized of all living reptiles
* are the most ancient of all living reptiles
  - distinctive group of reptiles alive today
* are the oldest group of reptiles
* are the oldest living group of reptiles, dating back to the time of the earliest dinosaurs
  - members of the reptilian class
* are the only living reptiles with shells
  - reptiles with a shell
  - thus truly ancient beings-both in geological and mythological terms
* are too large to shoot through
  - unique in their external display to be compared with other reptilian species
  - usually opportunistic feeders
  - vertebrates and they have lungs, which is their primary means of respiration
* are very difficult animals to keep successfully as pets
  - slow to mature and very long lived
  - warm-blooded
* are, by and large, omnivores.
* balance on fallen tree trunks.
* bask on rocks.
* breathe air through external nares located above their mouths
* bury eggs.
* call the Galapagos Islands home.
* can adjust their current headings to the left or right.
* can also knock the box off when moving between rocks
  - transmit disease
  - be illegal in some states
  - camouflage themselves as rocks
  - carry salmonella or other infectious diseases
  - get gout
  - go two to three months without food
  - have roundworms
  - learn a lot of little things and routines, given enough time and food rewards
  - live all around the world
* can live in all types of environments
  - saltwater, freshwater and on land
  - pop up at any time in every way
  - put their head and feet and tail into their shell
  - read magnetic maps
  - run several hundred pounds in weight
  - serve as a focal point in general conservation awareness programs
  - spread salmonellosis
  - tell more about the roads than hares
* carry a protective shell
  - seeds and parasites between habitats
* catch prey
* climb on top of each other to gain the sunniest spot on a floating log.
* come ashore at night to lay eggs and are easily disturbed by light, noise and movement.
  - in many sizes, shapes and colors and occupy a diversity of habitats
* come into contact
  - out to sun themselves along the banks on fallen logs
  - to the sea grass bed to graze
  - yearly to lay their eggs
* contain three eyelids.
* control buoyancy.
* desire water.
* develop a regular schedule of sleeping, bathing, sunning and eating
* dig both water and terra firma
  - nests in soft sand above the high-tide line
* do recognize their care provider, but signs of affection are difficult to determine.
* don t move very fast.
* dont nest every year, but when they do, they usually return to the same area.
* drink while having their bath.
* drop off logs.
* drown if they're caught in shrimping nets for extended periods of time.
* eat a wide variety of aquatic plants, as well as dead animals and some fish
  - both plants and animals
  - cabbage, leaves and some grass
  - flies
  - insects, and worms, and all types of bugs
  - jelly fish and often mistake plastic bags and deflated balloons as a tasty snack
  - little creatures that feed on algae
  - living or dead plant and animal matter
  - plants and sea junk
* eat small animals
* eggshells can be leathery, as in sea turtles, or brittle, as in many tortoises.
  - their nests without an established directional preference
  - three types of activities causing three forms of destruction
* even fall prey by accident when captured in large fishing nets used by shrimpers.
* exhibit shells.
* exist throughout the world except in the coldest climates.
* explore our reefs.
* follow current
* forage for food.
  - their body heat from their surroundings as they are cold blooded
* grow large, move slowly
  - throughout their life
* hatch from eggs, which are fertilized within the female's body.
* have a habit of eating their own stool
  - hard beak
  - memory, in which they store certain bits of information
  - poor sense of smell
  - shell of usually fused, long plates covered by large horny scales
  - small tail that looks like a skinny leg and they walk very slowly
  - two part shell, with the vertebrae and rib fused to it
  - two-part shell, the carapace on top and the plastron underneath
  - varied diet which includes fruit and vegetables as well as meat
  - well-developed sense of sight and of touch
  - amazing survival skills and strategies
  - circular pupils too
  - color vision
  - exoskeletons
  - flat shells and webbed feet with long claws
  - flatter backs than tortoises
* have good eyesight and an excellent sense of smell
  - great similarity yet great variation as well
  - kidneys
  - many different types
  - no teeth, but they have a beak with a hard, sharp edge that they use to cut food
  - one of the most distinctive body plans among all vertebrates
  - options
  - quite an amazing sense of balance
  - resilient shells and grow quite old unless, of course, they are upended
  - responses
  - shell layers
  - shields
  - solid skulls without temporal openings
  - their own unique characteristics and personalities
  - to watch out for birds or any other type of animal that is bigger than it
  - two special sets of respiratory muscles
  - very hard scales called plates
  - well-developed ear structures but usually give little evidence of hearing ability
  - cell membranes
  - sterna
  - vertebrate feet
* inhale air.
* killed by passing cars are a very significant loss to populations.
* know when to come out when it is safe.
* lay eggs , like other reptiles , which are slightly soft and leathery
  - in sandy mounds
  - on land, although many species live in or near water
* lay eggs, frogs jump about and butterflies flutter in nature's playground
  - like other reptiles, and which are slightly soft and leathery
  - slightly soft and leathery eggs, like other reptiles
* lay their eggs in sand or dirt
  - the sand, too
* lay their eggs on land, where predation is high
* lay their eggs on the beaches
  - northern, eastern and south-western beaches
* lift heads.
* like to gather
  - spend more time in the water
* live a long time
  - very, very long time
* live in a variety of environments, from deserts to ponds to the sea
  - all the continents except in Antarctica
  - and around the water
  - lakes, ponds, salt marshes, rivers, forests, and even in deserts
* live in the pond
  - underwater structure like brush piles and submerged rock piles
* live in water and have web feet
  - tortoises live on land
  - long lives, but in exchange, they are slow moving creatures
  - longer than any other animal except people
  - every continent except Antarctica
  - some or most of the time in the water, while tortoises live on land
* make a lot more waste than fish
* mate in early springs
  - shallow water
* move extremely gracefully in the water, a really neat site to see.
* need food
  - lower humidity
  - places
* nest annually on the island.
* nest on beaches
  - gulf coast beaches
  - suitable places
* nesting season also means tourist season
  - means that there are lighting restrictions on all area beaches
* never leave their home.
* occupy areas
* often catch midday rays by basking on a rock or log.
* often cross roads in search of disturbed soils which are attractive nest sites
  - near wetlands looking for an upland site to bury their eggs
  - drown when they become entangled in fishing nets
  - move around in a home range looking for food, water and a nesting site
  - swim near the surface and can be hit by boat propellers and jet skis
* play an important part in the folk culture.
* play important role in carrying energy
  - roles in food chains and in the cycles of life within their environment
* possess a poison bacteria that they secrete for protection
  - toothless jaws encased in horny beaks
* prefer diets
  - to nest during the high tide to avoid being stranded by the receding waters
* produce considerably more solid fecal waste than fish
  - many eggs, but few hatchlings survive the difficult journey back to sea
* pull their heads and feet into their shells to protect themselves.
* push off logs as the warmth of the sun fades into the trees.
* range in size from a few inches to as tall as a full-grown man
* rank high among the world's endangered species.
  - their full size in less than ten years
* receive dinner
* reproduce sexually and sexually only.
  - clean fresh water and bedding
  - more than a small, simple container to ensure proper health and longevity
  - special types of light to make sure they are healthy
* rest on logs
* roam beaches
* run the added risk of being collected, either legally and illegally, for the pet trade.
* share environments
* shells as an auditory receptor.
* sometimes suffer physical injury resulting in cracks or fractures in the shell.
* spend most of their lives at sea but return to the land to lay their eggs
  - in the water and have plated shells covering their bodies
  - the day underwater, burrowed into gravel deposits or hidden in crevices in the rocks
* start mating.
* still have to breathe air and they have to come up on land to lay their eggs.
* store food in the form of fat, and they store water in specialized bladders.
* suffer fate
  - same fate
* sun themselves on rocks along lakeshores.
* swallow food
  - pieces
* swim home.
* swim in bays
  - primarily in warm, coastal waters around the world
* swim to ocean surfaces
* swim, feed in water, and love to bask.
* symbolize long life.
* take a long time to adjust to temperature changes.
* tend to be unspecialized in food habits, eating either plant or animal food
  - have mottled shells of green, gold and brown
* to escape predators.
* turn over on their backs.
  - camouflage to hide from predators and avoid detection by prey
  - external strategies primarily in low stress situations
  - logs, root wads or large rocks to bask in the sun
* use their horned edge of their mouth to rip the meat first into pieces
  - jaws to cut and chew food
  - mouths to breathe and some have other adaptations to help intake oxygen
* usually live in or close to water, and tortoises live in dry places.
* vary greatly in size
* vertebrates migratory sea turtle site turtle sea.
+ Green turtle, Endangered: Reptiles of Pakistan
  * The numbers of Green Turtles around the world has dropped by more than half over the last 150 years. The main reasons are hunting of turtles and the taking of their eggs. Many turtles are killed when they get caught in fishing nets. There is also a disease called fibropapillomatosis which is affecting them. This disease which causes tumors to grow on the turtle's face is probably caused by damage and pollution of their nesting beaches.
+ Turtle, Anatomy, Feeding
  * Turtles have a hard beak. Turtles use their jaws to cut and chew food. Instead of teeth, the upper and lower jaws of the turtle are covered by horny ridges. Carnivorous turtles usually have knife-sharp ridges for slicing through their prey. Herbivorous turtles have serrated-edged ridges that help them cut through tough plants. Turtles use their tongues to swallow food, but they cannot, unlike most reptiles, stick out their tongues to catch food
  - Ecology and life history: Living fossils
  * Turtles lay eggs, like other reptiles, which are slightly soft and leathery. The eggs of the largest species are spherical, while the eggs of the rest are elongated. Sea turtles lay their eggs on dry, sandy beaches. Turtles can take many years to reach breeding age, and in many cases breed every few years rather than annually