Morrocoy tortoise // Chelonoidis carbonaria

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Again in another installment in the field of science and the field of Biology, continuing the work of photography of the small natural world and other spaces, such as the Morrocoy tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria), which we have seen in her natural habitat, as well as raised as a pet in our house, caught my attention on my tour of San Cristóbal in the state of Táchira, on the visit of a relative I had the great honor of living the experience with this very beautiful animal species and singular.


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It is a species of land turtle native to the savannas and forests, typical of South America, in some regions this turtle is called red legs because it has a series of reddish scales, which is related to the species of yellow color (Chelonoidis denticulata), so that we keep it in mind, it belongs to the species of reptiles where they are characterized by having a short and wide trunk, which in turn is protected by a shell formed by bony plates covered with plates corneas, also in recent studies it has been evidenced that they only possess horny plates, because this reptile makes it unique it is for the following, to know more about it and it is that from the skeleton of the turtles it is that the spinal column is welded to the part dorsal shell.


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In my documentation I obtained the following information, in the case of the shell it is black with yellow-orange spots, its legs with its reddish scales with the one I was working on reaches the size of 20 to 25 cm long and 15 cm high, United : Animals, Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida, Order: Testudines, Suborder: Cryptodira, Family: Testudinidae.


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Characteristics: it is the largest of the Argentine land turtles with an average length of about 30 cm and sometimes reaches 55 cm long and 32 wide (truly exceptional cases of 60 cm are cited), although its size and pattern vary greatly. coloration (especially yellow spots) depending on the locality. Males are somewhat older than females, it is easily distinguished by its blackish shell with central yellow spots on each plate and spots of the same color on the head. Information consulted in Los que se va: Argentine species in danger by Juan Carlos Chebez, Claudio Bertonatti, 1994.


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This species of reptile does not have teeth, since it presents a skull with the characteristics of a great primitivism conditioned with a sharp jaw having the appearance of a beak, additionally it must be known due to its skeleton that makes breathing by the action that is carried out, by the action of the extremities, that is why they are very sensitive.


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This species of reptile does not have teeth, since it presents a skull with the characteristics of a great primitivism conditioned with a sharp jaw having the appearance of a beak, additionally it must be known due to its skeleton that makes breathing by the action that is carried out, by the action of the extremities, that is why they are very sensitive.


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The pattern is yellow with many dark spots, many times the spots on the head and legs instead of yellow are deep red, in addition the bill usually has a single cusp and the thighs do not have protruding tubers, which if instead are made Present in the neck, the females are smaller and with the flat plastron, in the male it is concave. Information consulted in Los que se va: Argentine species in danger by Juan Carlos Chebez, Claudio Bertonatti, 1994.

In the field of biology it has been able to show why these reptiles last for many years, that is because turtles can tolerate long periods of drought, or extreme conditions thanks to the fact that they have a very slow metabolism in their organism, have been recorded to have Come to be between 75 and 180 years old, considering also its prehistoric ancestors, Odontochelys semitestacea is the oldest turtle. It feeds on a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers, for this species it likes to live in cool and dry places, since they are sensitive to humidity and are highly attacked by fungi and respiratory diseases.


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This photographic documentation work was done using a Samsung J4 cell phone, in HD mode by @newton666.


[1] - Those who leave: Argentine species in danger by Juan Carlos Chebez, Claudio Bertonatti, 1994.


[2] - The Biology and Identification of the Coccidia (Apicomplexa) of Turtles of ... by Donald W. Duszynski, Johnica J. Morrow, 2014.


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