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Turtle carapaces and scutes from Red Sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) were used in rings, bracelets, dishes, bowls, knife hilts, amulets, and combs. Carapaces from Kleinmann's tortoise were used as sounding boards for lutes, harps and mandolins. [16] Turtle shells were also used to make norvas, an instrument resembling a banjo. [26]
Spanish explorers, who discovered the islands in the 16th century, named them after the Spanish galápago, meaning "tortoise". [5] Galápagos tortoises are native to seven of the Galápagos Islands. Shell size and shape vary between subspecies and populations. On islands with humid highlands, the tortoises are larger, with domed shells and ...
The word turtle is borrowed from the French word tortue or tortre 'turtle, tortoise'. [3] It is a common name and may be used without knowledge of taxonomic distinctions. In North America, it may denote the order as a whole. In Britain, the name is used for sea turtles as opposed to freshwater terrapins and land-dwelling tortoises. In Australia ...
In Britain, terrapin is used to refer to a larger group of semiaquatic turtles than the restricted meaning in America. [6] [9] Australian usage is different from both American and British usage. [8] Land tortoises are not native to Australia, and traditionally freshwater turtles have been called "tortoises" in Australia. [10]
The Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae and genus Aldabrachelys. The species is endemic to the Seychelles , with the nominate subspecies , A. g. gigantea native to Aldabra atoll.
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]
Sea turtles, along with other turtles and tortoises, are part of the order Testudines. All species except the leatherback sea turtle are in the family Cheloniidae . The superfamily name Chelonioidea and family name Cheloniidae are based on the Ancient Greek word for tortoise: χελώνη ( khelōnē ). [ 16 ]
The now-extinct West Indian radiation is thought to group with the Chaco and Galapagos tortoises but is significantly basal to both, and was a rather evolutionary distinct lineage, having diverged well before any of the modern species in the genus did and only 7 mya after the divergence of Chelonoidis from African tortoises.