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Diagram of a prawn, with the carapace highlighted in red. A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.
In Pleurodires the posterior pelvis is also part of the carapace, fully fused with it. This is not the case in Cryptodires which have a floating pelvis. [2] [3] The anterior bridge strut and posterior bridge strut are part of the plastron. On the carapace are the sutures into which they insert, known as the Bridge carapace suture. [4]
The carapace is leathery and pliable, particularly at the sides. The central part of the carapace has a layer of solid bone beneath it, as in other turtles, but this is absent at the outer edges. Some species also have dermal bones in the plastron, but these are not attached to the bones of the shell. The light and flexible shell of these ...
Like other amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals) they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. Turtle shells are made mostly of bone; the upper part is the domed carapace, while the underside is the flatter plastron or belly-plate.
The carapace has a hydrodynamic appearance and is broad with a moderately low keel. The rear of the carapace is flared and the rear marginals form serrations. The plastron is yellowish and is marked by a central dark blotch (plastral figure) that follows the sutures of the plastral scutes and fades with age so that many adults lack a pattern ...
The plastron is usually white to yellow, though may acquire substrate staining in some areas. In juveniles, a distinctive keel is found down the centre of the carapace, [9] and the outer edges have serrations. These features are lost as the turtle ages.
The borders of the carapace are made up of peripheral and marginal scales. [4] The pygal bone sits at the posterior end of the shell, and the suprapygal sits right above it. [4] Basilemys' plastron is octagonal and elongated. [4] Like the carapace, the plastron is made up of many bony elements, and the plastron can be divided into five distinct ...
Other characteristics include a continuous middorsal yellow line on its carapace and the plastron is solid brown with yellow spots and has mottling on its head and legs. Although, some males can have an entirely green head. [4] Their colors are muted for camouflage in the desert and mature turtles are lighter and more muted than the juvenile ...