Fun Trivia » Animals » Reptiles and Amphibians » Turtles and Tortoises

While the tortoises on the Galápagos Islands have more fame, there exists another branch of giant tortoises that live in the Seychelles, on the Aldabra Atoll as well as on Fregate Island. While the two colonies share many similarities, the Seychelles tortoises are related to to the tortoises of Madagascar whereas the Galápagos giant tortoises are related to the South American tortoises.

The Aldabran Atoll is the second-largest coral atoll in the world in terms of dry land. It is also a protected site, being the home to over 150,000 giant tortoises and several other vulnerable species, is one of the few islands in the world that has been largely protected from human interference and development. The tortoises live upon the raised coral island and find everything they need there. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands), Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Islas Canarias (Canary Islands)

They are part of the order Testudines along with more than 250 other species. Among those species they can slide into water the quickest of all of them, to avoid predators or just to go for a swim.

This may or may not be part of the reason they were chosen to mutate into ninjas in the comics and other media. The red-eared portion is why all four members of the team wore red masks initially though.

Difficulty: Hard.

 

When cooked the meat is slippery, They can retract, or slide, into their shells, They were once used as pucks in ice hockey

The female crawls onto the beach during the night and digs her nest well above the high tide line. Sometimes, she will not find a suitable spot and will return to the sea without depositing eggs. This is called a "false crawl." Difficulty: Hard.

 

She drops them into the shallow surf and allows the wave action to carry them onshore., In the first sand castle she comes to on the beach., Under a sand dune vegetation.

The leatherback sea turtle has the largest distribution range of all reptiles, and possibly of all vertebrates. They have what is called a "cosmopolitan" range, which means they can be found everywhere in the world a suitable environment can be found. Adult specimens can sometimes be found as far north as Alaska, and as far south as New Zealand. You would be most likely to find one in the tropical or subtropical waters of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. The three largest distinct populations of the turtle can be found in the Atlantic, and the east and west of the Pacific. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean

The shell is made up of many bones joined together. It was once thought that the age could be determined by the number of rings but this is not so as the rings can vary according to the conditions in which the animal lives. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Base, Undershell, Lower Shell

The Mediterranean loggerhead, like many sea turtles and some other reptiles, are born with Temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). In the loggerhead the temperature in the second third of incubation determines the sex of the eggs. Between 28 and 30 Celsius the hatchlings will be close to 50/50 male/female. Above 30 they will be majority female; below 28, the hatchlings will be majority male. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Males have a lower rate of survival, so more males than females are born, Male loggerheads are born earlier than females., Sea turtles lay eggs in two clutches: one for males, one for females.

This is what the green sea turtle used to yield in turtle soup Difficulty: Hard.

 

Scutes, Placenta, Plastron

When red-eared sliders are young, it is hard to tell their gender apart as both genders look nearly identical. As the turtles age, however, the females tend to grow larger than the males of the same age. Males are generally in the 10 centimeter range, and females around 15 centimeters at full growth. The males also tend have longer claws which help in the mating process.

The exact opposite of this played out with the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in the live action show "The Next Mutation". The show introduced a female turtle who was significantly smaller than the original four male turtles. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Male, They are asexual, It depends on environment, neither gender is generally larger

Sometimes, the female loggerhead will establish her nest too close to the shoreline. If the nest gets inundated by surf periodically, the embryos will not develop.

When this happens in an area monitored by authorized turtle conservationists, they will carefully relocate the eggs to a new nest at higher elevation.
In the US, the active nests are marked with signs and caution tape to warn off the general public. Difficulty: Hard.

 

When the nest is inconvenient to observers., When close to recreation areas., If the neighbors complain.

The leatherback sea turtle is the only surviving member of the Dermochelyidae family. This family has existed in some form since the Cretaceous Period, 110 million years ago. Their closest living relatives are the Chelonioidea, which includes the other sea turtles, and the Protostegidae, which died out in the Mesozoic Period but included some other leatherbacks.

The first to name the species was Domenico Agostino Vandell in 1761, who gave it the name "Testudo coriacea". This was changed to "Dermochelys coriacea" (as it is now) after Henri Blainville created the term "Dermochelys". Then in 1843 they were moved to their own family, Dermochelys, by Leopold Fitzinger.

The Jurassic and Triassic periods were both earlier in the Mesozoic Era than the Cretaceous Period, while the Holocene began in the Cenozoic Era and still continues today. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Jurassic, Triassic, Holocene

The flippers have a unique pattern which does not change with time so individual turtles can be identified. Adult turtles use their flippers to swim but hatchlings can use them to cross the sand to the sea. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Wings, Fins, Rudders

You and your siblings must work in unison clawing your way toward the top of the sand. Once you are near the top, you wait for nightfall and then dig the last bit to the beach. Difficulty: Hard.

 

You wait for mom to return and dig you out., At high tide the sea will fill the nest with water and carry you out to sea., Beech martens will dig up the nest eventually.

A leatherback feeds almost solely on jellyfish. Unfortunately, it can often mistake a floating plastic bag for the silhouette of a jellyfish, a leading cause for the turtle's status as an endangered species. So never throw your plastic bags in the ocean! Difficulty: Hard.

 

Small fish and plankton, Insects, Sea grasses and sea weeds

They love crayfish but they aren't always easy to catch. Crayfish hide in rocks so the spiny softshell turtle has a long neck. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Tadpoles, Fish, Frogs

Tiny blood vessels called capillaries flow very close to the thin skin of the cloaca and pharynx, allowing for gas exchange into and out of the bloodstream. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Its Tongue, Between its Toes, Its Shell

 

5, 10, 12

Giant tortoises feed on plant matter like grass, stems, leaves, and fruit (although no fruit is native to the island of Aldabra). They also eat insects, worms, and are also opportunistic meat eaters, when they come across other dead animals (even other dead tortoises). They are able to get enough water from the moisture contained in the food they eat though an occasional rainfall is also a welcome treat to drink. Difficulty: Hard.

 

They are able to store rain in their shells, They know how to puncture succulents for water, They are able to desalinate the ocean water

Red-eared Sliders have no internal body temperature regulators. For that reason they are mostly found in temperate to warm climates. They sit out in the sun when they are cold and dive in the water when they are hot. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

They need sun rays to clean their shells, They put food on their shells and cook it in the sun, They typically don't lie in the sun much as it's bad for them

Eggs are dropped during the summer months when the weather is warm.
Hotter temperatures favor the formation of females, while cooler temperatures will produce a higher percentage of males.
Difficulty: Easy.

 

All nests naturally contain 60% females., Turtles don't decide their gender until later in life., No one yet knows how the sex is determined.

It has a flat head. The head has many protrusions and flaps. There is a horn like appendage on its snout. It has a number of barbels on its head, three on the chin and four on the upper jaw.

A fully grown mata mata can weigh up to 15 kilograms. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Rectangular, Oval, Globular

Jonathan lives in the grounds of the Governor's residence with some other tortoises. He is reputed to be over 175 years old. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Aldabra tortoise, Pancake tortoise, Karroo Cape tortoise

These eggs indeed contain no yolk, which is needed in order to grow a turtle embryo. They are also much smaller and harder in texture than the fertile eggs. While many theories exist, their exact purpose remains unknown. (Gastroliths are actually stones swallowed by some animals - dinosaurs to begin with - to aid digestion of food). Difficulty: Hard.

 

Dud eggs, Softshell eggs, Gastroliths

They have small spines near the head. Difficulty: Hard.

 

The shell is full of spines, Its neck has spines on it, It keeps its eggtooth all its life

The order Testudinata, which contains all turtles and tortoises, contains 66 genera and at least 221 species. Difficulty: Hard.

 

exactly 27, over 1,400, nearly 700

 

Carapace, Calipee, Maxilla

The life expectancy for a giant tortoise is estimated to be over 100 years. An accurate number, however, is difficult to pin down; giant tortoises live longer than the people who are observing them! Adwaita, an Aldabran giant tortoise, lived in a zoo in Kolkata and, when he died in 2006, his age was estimated to be 255. However, this was not verified. The longest verified age for a tortoise was, in 2020, taken over by Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise (closely related to the Aldabran giant tortoises) when he reached the ripe old age of 188, and was still going strong. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

88 years, 27 years, 52 years

To brumate, or be in the act of brumation is to go into a period of dormancy. While it physically appears to be similar to hibernation, the metabolic processes involved are different. During brumation the turtle can still function, albeit it much slower than usual.

Burninate is what the internet comic character Trogdor does! Difficulty: Easy.

 

Burninate, Hyphenate, Hydrate

The incubation period is variable, and is affected by the mother's biological make-up and the climate during incubation.

It can also vary by the latitude of the nesting area. Difficulty: Hard.

 

3-4 weeks., 20-22 weeks., Two years.

Carapace is the shell of the turtle and what we would call the belly is called the plastron.

The mata mata has a large carapace which can be either black or brown. This greatly enhances the ability of the turtle to camouflage with its surroundings by looking like bark. The rest of the turtle's body tends to be grey. Mata matas have a long neck which have a few skin flaps on them. They have webbed claws.

They say you can tell if the mata mata is from the Amazon or the Orinoco from the shape of their shells. Amazon locals have rectangular shaped shells while those from the Orinoco have more oval shaped ones.

Sometimes, algae grows on the shells of these turtles. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Neck, Belly, Claws

Many turtle hatchlings will run into issues upon the beach on their way to the sea. Some of these are part of the circle of life. Yet, being trapped in the moats of sandcastles and stuck behind the legs of sunbeds are things humans can help ameliorate. Remember to knock down your sandcastles and stack up your sunbeds. Difficulty: Average.

 

sandcastles, sunbeds, soda bottles and other rubbish

Leatherback nests vary in temperature; a cooler nest will tend to produce more males, whereas a warmer nest is more likely to produce females. Long-lasting temperature changes can be dangerous, as they may skew the gender balance in the species. Difficulty: Hard.

 

female, temperature has no effect; they can be either, killed or damaged from lack of sufficient heat

All turtles have a top shell which is named the carapace. Difficulty: Hard.

 

the bottom shell, the tail, there's no carapace

Soft-shelled turtles are the only kind of turtle that have lips, like mammals. However, these lips still cover the sharp, toothless beak characteristic of turtles. The leatherback sea turtle has a pliable, leathery shell as well as the soft-shelled turtles. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Their Soft Shells, Their Many Teeth, Their Disproportionately Small Heads

 

In the mud in shallow water, Free floating, Near Coral Reefs

The female Aldabran giant tortoise lays between 9 and 25 eggs. Half (or more) of these eggs are often infertile and will not produce a baby. The female can lay the eggs between the months of February and May and the eggs will hatch about eight months later. The babies are born independent and self-sufficient, though, obviously, more vulnerable than adult tortoises. They reach full maturity after about fifty years. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Between 130 and 150, Between 2 and 4, Between 70 and 80

The males of the species will court females before they reach sexual maturity, but they can't produce offspring before they are at or near five years old. Some are closer to six years old before they are able to reproduce. When held in captivity, males may appear to be courting other males or other pets, but it is generally thought to be a sign of dominance and not homosexuality within the species. These displays often lead to fights if not prevented by the pet owner.

Several times in the "TMNT" comics, movies and television shows they are shown to have an interest in female characters. Of course they are also almost always depicted as teenagers unless there is a flashback or flashforward segment. Difficulty: Hard.

 

6 months, 18 months, 1 year

People wanting to observe the tiny hatchlings in their crawl to the sea must be careful not to step on them. Difficulty: Average.

 

Over six inches long., They hatch nearly fully grown., Less than one-quarter inch long.

As far as is known there are no living turtles in Antarctica but ancient turtle fossils have been found on Seymour Island. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Africa, Asia, Australia

While no major study has been conducted of these lost years, biologists hypothesize - based on anecdotal evidence - that the young sea turtles are staying atop the waters eating until they are large enough to face larger predators. Difficulty: Hard.

 

near the shoreline, heading back and forth between coral reefs and the shore, partying in Cancun

A 'lora' is an olive ridley sea turtle; a 'Negra' is a black sea turtle (also known as green Pacific). Difficulty: Hard.

 

Lora, Negra, Pacifica