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Kinosternoidea
Kinosternoidea is a superfamily of aquatic turtles, which includes two families: Dermatemydidae, and Kinosternidae. Kinosternoids are cryptodires, turtles whose necks are able to retract within their shell. Molecular studies suggest they are likely the sister group to the snapping turtles of the family Chelydridae. They are also omnivorous, oviparous, phosphatic, and actively mobile. Classification *Family Dermatemydidae ::*Genus ''Dermatemys'' ::*Genus '' Baptemys''Walter G. Joyce (2007) Phylogenetic Relationships of Mesozoic Turtles" Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History *Family Kinosternidae :*Genus '' Hoplochelys'' :*Subfamily Staurotypinae ::*Genus '' Claudius'' ::*Genus '' Staurotypus'' :*Subfamily Kinosterninae ::*Genus ''Kinosternon'' ::*Genus ''Sternotherus ''Sternotherus'' is a genus of turtles in the family Kinosternidae including six species commonly known as musk turtles. The genus is endemic to North America, occurring in the eastern third of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptodires
The Cryptodira ('' el, hidden neck'') are a suborder of Testudines that includes most living tortoises and turtles. Cryptodira differ from Pleurodira (side-necked turtles) in that they lower their necks and pull the heads straight back into the shells, instead of folding their necks sideways along the body under the shells' marginals. They include among their species freshwater turtles, snapping turtles, tortoises, softshell turtles, and sea turtles. Neck retraction The Cryptodira are characterized by retraction of the head in the vertical plane, which permits for primarily vertical movements and restricted lateral movements outside of the shell. These motions are largely due to the morphology and arrangement of cervical vertebrae. In all recent turtles, the cervical column consists of nine joints and eight vertebrae. Compared to the narrow vertebrae and the closely positioned zygapophyses of the pleurodires, the cryptodires’ vertebrae take on the opposite shape. Their cervic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dermatemydidae
The Dermatemydidae are a family of turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...s. The family was named by John Edward Gray in 1870, and its only extant genus is '' Dermatemys''. Subtaxa *†'' Baptemys'' *'' Dermatemys'' *†'' Gomphochelys'' *†'' Notomorpha'' References ;Bibliography * * Turtle families Taxa named by John Edward Gray Extant Late Cretaceous first appearances {{Turtle-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big-headed Turtle
The big-headed turtle (''Platysternon megacephalum'') is a species of turtle in the family Platysternidae from Southeast Asia and southern China. Background Previously considered a distinct family placed on occasion in " Kinosternoidea", it was later moved to the Emydidae. With the Geoemydidae being split off from these, it seems wisest to reinstate the Platysternidae. This, as well as the subfamily and the genus ''Platysternon'', are monotypic. Distribution The big-headed turtles are found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Behaviour The big-headed turtle is known to readily climb over obstacles in and around rivers and fast streams, using its tail as a prop to extend the reach of its strong claws; it also uses its beak to assist in climbing. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked turtles), which differ in the way the head retracts. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling tortoises and freshwater terrapins. They are found on most continents, some islands and, in the case of sea turtles, much of the ocean. 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. Its outer surface is covered in scales made of keratin, the material of hair, horns, and claws. The carapace bones develop from ribs that grow sideways and develop into broad flat plates th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". What belongs to a family—or if a described family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no hard rules for describing or recognizing a family, but in plants, they can be characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions, and there may be no broad consensus across the scientific community for some time. The publishing of new data and opini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snapping Turtles
The Chelydridae is a family of turtles that has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are the snapping turtles, ''Chelydra'' and '' Macrochelys''. Both are endemic to the Western Hemisphere. The extinct genera are '' Acherontemys'', '' Chelydrops'', '' Chelydropsis'', ''Emarginachelys'', '' Macrocephalochelys'', '' Planiplastron'', and '' Protochelydra''. Fossil history The Chelydridae have a long fossil history, with extinct species reported from North America as well as all over Asia and Europe, far outside their present range. The earliest described chelydrid is '' Emarginachelys cretacea'', known from well-preserved fossils from the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous of Montana. Another well-preserved fossil chelydrid is the Late Paleocene ''Protochelydra zangerli'' from North Dakota. The carapace of ''P. zangerli'' is higher-domed than that of the recent ''Chelydra'', a trait conjectured to be associated with the coexistence of large, turtle-eating c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omnivore
An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutrients and energy of the sources absorbed. Often, they have the ability to incorporate food sources such as algae, fungi, and bacteria into their diet. Omnivores come from diverse backgrounds that often independently evolved sophisticated consumption capabilities. For instance, dogs evolved from primarily carnivorous organisms ( Carnivora) while pigs evolved from primarily herbivorous organisms (Artiodactyla). Despite this, physical characteristics such as tooth morphology may be reliable indicators of diet in mammals, with such morphological adaptation having been observed in bears. The variety of different animals that are classified as omnivores can be placed into further sub-categories depending on their feeding behaviors. Frugivor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oviparity
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and monotremes. In traditional usage, most insects (one being ''Culex pipiens'', or the common house mosquito), molluscs, and arachnids are also described as oviparous. Modes of reproduction The traditional modes of reproduction include oviparity, taken to be the ancestral condition, traditionally where either unfertilised oocytes or fertilised eggs are spawned, and viviparity traditionally including any mechanism where young are born live, or where the development of the young is supported by either parent in or on any part of their body. However, the biologist Thierry Lodé recently divided the traditional category of oviparous reproduction into two modes that he named ovuliparity and (true) oviparity respectively. He distinguished the tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dermatemys
The hickatee (''Dermatemys mawii'') or in Spanish ''tortuga blanca'' ('white turtle'), also called the Central American river turtle, is the only living species in the family Dermatemydidae. The species is found in the Atlantic drainages of Central America, specifically Belize, Guatemala, southern Mexico and probably Honduras. It is a relatively large-bodied species, with records of straight carapace length and weights of ; although most individuals are smaller. This is a herbivorous and almost completely aquatic turtle that does not even surface to bask. Bizarrely for reptiles, the eggs can remain viable even after being underwater for weeks -in the recent past, some scientists mistakenly claimed it nests underwater, likely due to visiting Central America during a frequent flood, when nests are often submerged. In the culture of the Ancient Mayan civilisation this species and turtles in general had numerous uses such as being used in warfare, as musical instruments and as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinosternidae
The Kinosternidae are a family of mostly small turtles that includes the mud turtles and musk turtles. The family contains 25 species within four genera, but taxonomic reclassification is an ongoing process, so many sources vary on the exact numbers of species and subspecies. They inhabit slow-moving bodies of water, often with soft, muddy bottoms and abundant vegetation. Description Most kinosternids are small turtles, in carapace length. The highly domed carapace has a distinct keel down its center. The genus '' Staurotypus'' gets much larger, to . Females are generally larger than males, but males have much longer tails. Kinosternids can be black, brown, green, or yellowish in color. Most species do not have shell markings, but some species have radiating black markings on each carapace scute. Some species have distinctive yellow striping along the sides of the head and neck. The musk turtles are so named because they are capable of releasing a foul-smelling musk from gland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoplochelys
''Hoplochelys'' is an extinct genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ... of kinosternoid. References Kinosternidae Late Cretaceous turtles of North America Cretaceous reptiles of North America Hell Creek fauna {{paleo-turtle-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staurotypinae
The Staurotypinae are a subfamily of the family Kinosternidae of aquatic turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...s, which contains the genera '' Claudius'' and '' Staurotypus''. ''Staurotypus'' exhibits XX/XY sex determination, in contrast to the temperature-dependent sex determination of most turtles. Although the exact mechanism of sex determination in ''Claudius'' is unknown, it is known to be genetically determined; it is suspected that it exhibits XX/XY sex determination as well. Genera * '' Claudius'' * '' Staurotypus'' References Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{turtle-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
