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Testudo, the Mediterranean tortoises, are a genus of tortoises found in North Africa, Western Asia, and Europe. Several species are under threat in the wild, mainly from habitat destruction . Background
Adult male leopard tortoise, South Africa Tortoise laying eggs Young African sulcata tortoise. Most species of tortoises lay small clutch sizes, seldom exceeding 20 eggs, and many species have clutch sizes of only 1–2 eggs. Incubation is characteristically long in most species, the average incubation period are between 100 and 160.0 days.
A penis (/ ˈ p iː n ɪ s /; pl.: penises or penes) is a male sex organ that is used to inseminate female or hermaphrodite animals during copulation. [1] [2] Such organs occur in both vertebrates and invertebrates, including humans, but not in all male animals. The term penis applies to many intromittent organs, but not to all.
The hemipenis is the intromittent organ of Squamata, [4] which is the second largest order of vertebrates with over 9,000 species distributed around the world. They differ from the intromittent organs of most other amniotes such as mammals, archosaurs and turtles that have a single genital tubercle, as squamates have the paired genitalia remaining separate. [5]
In many species, males have a concave plastron that interlocks with the female's carapace. In species like the Russian tortoise, the male has a lighter shell and longer legs. The high, rounded shape of box turtles are particular obstacles for mounting. The male eastern box turtle leans backward and hooks onto the back of the female's plastron. [87]
Between 1963 and 1974, all 14 adult tortoises discovered on the island were brought to the tortoise center on Santa Cruz and a tortoise breeding program was initiated. In 1977, a third Española male tortoise was returned to Galapagos from the San Diego Zoo and joined the breeding group. [ 79 ]
In February 2020, the Galápagos National Park, along with the Galápagos Conservancy, reported that a female tortoise was directly related to the species that Lonesome George was a part of. This female was among thirty tortoises that were found to be related to two species that are considered extinct. [34]
Many turtles, tortoises, and lizards have proportionally very large bladders. Charles Darwin noted that the bladder of the Galapagos tortoise could store urine weighing up to 20% of the tortoise's body weight. [37] Such adaptations are the result of environments, such as remote islands and deserts, where fresh water is very scarce. [38]