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Chelymorpha alternans, the neotropical tortoise beetle, is a species of leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae and the Cassidinae subfamily. Its name is derived from its body shape and patterning. Its name is derived from its body shape and patterning.
This "star" pattern is more finely detailed and intricate than the normal pattern of other star-patterned tortoise species, such as Geochelone elegans of India. The radiated tortoise is also larger than G. elegans, and the scutes of the carapace are smooth, and not raised up into a bumpy, pyramidal shape as is commonly seen in the latter species.
The patterns are arranged in ray-like markings and help the tortoise blend in with its environment. From a birds eye view the shell has geometrical symbols on it thus giving it its name. This tortoise is very small, and a full grown tortoise can only reach about 13–15 centimetres (5.1–5.9 in) in diameter.
When he eats all the food, the birds stop him from flying back to the earth, and he falls, which is how the tortoises got the patterns on their shells. In an Igbo fable Mbekwu (or Mbe) persuades Grasshopper ( Ukpana ) to help fake sadness on the death of his father-in-law, so that he can get food from his kinsmen, but breaks his pledge to share ...
The tortoise can produce one to six eggs per clutch and up to four clutches every season. The reproductive season is from 15 January to 30 May. [1] The angonoka tortoise's reproductive patterns coincide with the seasonal rainfall patterns of the region, with both mating and hatching occurring at the onset of the rainy seasons. [21]
Tortoises keep a characteristic scute (shell segment) pattern on their shells throughout life, though the annual growth bands are not useful for determining age because the outer layers are worn off with time. A tortoise can withdraw its head, neck, and fore limbs into its shell for protection.
The Burmese star tortoise has radiating star-shaped patterns on its strongly domed carapace. It has bumps on its shell that look like stars. This tortoise can easily be distinguished from the more common Indian star tortoise by comparing the plastrons of the two species.
The African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata), also called the sulcata tortoise, is an endangered species of tortoise inhabiting the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, the Sahel, in Africa. It is the largest mainland species of tortoise in Africa, and the third-largest in the world, after the Galapagos tortoise and Aldabra giant tortoise.