Tortoise
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Tortoises (Testudinidae) are a family of land-dwelling reptiles in the order Testudines. Like their marine relatives, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise endoskeleton has the adaptation of having an external shell fused to the ribcage. Tortoises can vary in size from a few centimeters to two meters. They are usually diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive animals.
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†Seychelles giant tortoise | African spurred tortoise | Aldabra giant tortoise |
Burmese star tortoise | Desert tortoise | Galapagos tortoise |
Hermann's tortoise | Impressed tortoise | Indian star tortoise |
Leopard tortoise | Pancake tortoise | Pinta Island tortoise |
Radiated tortoise | Red-footed tortoise | Russian tortoise |