tortoise

(also, less commonly, called ‘land turtle’; please pay more attention to the pronunciation of this word ‘tortoise’, to listen to the right pronunciation, please click here)

a kind of animal – reptile (= animal that creeps on land;) – four-legged – grass-eating – egg-laying – diurnal (= active during day) – slowing moving – cold-blooded (= the body temperature changes depending on the weather condition; the present/scientific name ‘echtothermic’) different colours with endo- and exoskeleton – different patterns on the upper dome-shaped shell called ‘carapace’ and the flat lower shell called ‘plastron’, the body attached to the carapace, relatively small, flat, cone-shaped head with a beak-like mouth, no teeth, a tongue but cannot stick out, stubby legs with claws on feet and covered in scales, short, pointed tail; size: (varies widely) from 3 inches to 5 feet long, and weight: (varies widely) from 140 grams to 350 Kg; feeds on (eats) weeds, grasses, plant matter (including cacti) – flowers, buds, shoots, and occasionally worms, insects; lives for, on average, 100 years (some individuals live up to 215-230 years; the world longest lived tortoise lived for 255 years); about 50 (?) species found in warm parts of the world, except Australia (?) and Antarctica