Turtles are reptiles.
A turtle is a reptile whose most notable characteristic is the presence of a shell that serves to protect its organs. In this way, with the naked eye, only the head, legs and tail of the animal can be seen, since the rest is covered by the shell.
Also known as chelonians , turtles have a certain type of beak but do not have teeth. It is an ectothermic species that changes its skin and even the shields that make up its shell.
Characteristics of turtles
The lower sector of the shell is called the plastron , while the dorsal (upper) sector is called the back . For a physical reason, when a turtle is turned upside down and ends up with its legs up, it has great difficulty recovering its usual position .
Turtles lay eggs: they are, in this way, oviparous . These eggs are incubated in nests that the animal digs on the surface . It should be noted that, although it depends on each particular species, turtles tend to be very long-lived. There have been recorded cases of turtles living more than a century and a half.
It is important to mention that there are land turtles and aquatic turtles . In this second group , we can distinguish between turtles that live in fresh water and turtles whose habitat is the sea. Aquatic turtles, unlike land turtles, have fingers linked together through a membrane or even fins instead of legs.
Due to their speed of movement, turtles are often considered a symbol of slowness . This same characteristic, added to their longevity, also makes turtles represent patience and even wisdom .
Aquatic turtles can live in the sea or fresh water depending on the species.
Fictional characters created by Eastman and Laird
Like many other animals, the turtle is also present in the field of fiction. Specifically, it is a living being that is the protagonist not only of movies but also of cartoon series and even comics thanks to the existence of the characters known as Ninja Turtles .
Peter Laird y Kevin Eastman fueron los creadores de esos personajes, que aparecieron por primera vez en unas historietas gráficas en la década de los años ochenta. En concreto, se trata de cuatro tortugas antropomorfas que viven en las alcantarillas de la ciudad de New York y que tienen la particularidad de que son expertas en artes marciales, lo que les lleva a luchar contra el mal reinante.
In addition to all of the above, the Ninja Turtles have a teacher, an anthropomorphic rat too, called Splinter and they have the uniqueness that each one, who is identified with a color, is called one of the most important artists of the Renaissance. Italian: Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo.
Goblin Turtle
In the same way, we cannot forget another fictional figure that comes to vindicate the animal at hand.
We are referring to Goblin Turtle , who is a fundamental character in the manga and cartoon series "Dragon Ball" . He is a martial arts master and friend of turtles who teaches his wisdom to Goku and Krillin .