Tortoise

Tortoises are a family, Testudinidae, of land-dwelling vertebrates in the order testudineTortoises are shielded from predator by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The carapace is fused to both the vertebrae and ribcage, and tortoises are unique among vertebrates
in that the pectoral and pelvic girdles are inside, rather than outside, the ribcage. Tortoises can vary in size from a few centimeters to two meters. They are usually diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive
animals.

 Above is the Aldabra giant tortoise.

How some of us misuse our lovely tortoises.

Baby tortoise, less than a day old.

 Desert tortoise in Rainbow Basin near Barstow, California 

22-year-old leopard tortoise.

 Skeleton of a tortoise.

Testudo graeca ibera, Testudo hermanni boettgeri, Testudo hermanni hermanni, Testudo marginata sarda

Young, 20-year-old Tanzanian leopard tortoise feeding on grass

 Pair of African spurred tortoises mate in a zoo.

 African spurred tortoise.

 Young (3.5 years) African spurred tortoise.

 Tortoises generally have the longest lifespans of any animal, and some individuals are known to have lived longer than 150 years.
 Female tortoises dig nesting burrows in which they lay from one to 30 eggs.Egg-laying typically occurs at night, after which the mother tortoise covers her clutch with sand, soil, and organic material. The eggs are left unattended, and depending on the species, take from 60 to 120 days to incubate.