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Anatomy of a turtle

The anatomy of a turtle may seem fairly simple to most, a shell and a body right? Wrong! There are many complex things that go into making a turtle a turtle. While the shell may give a turtle its unique appearance; there are many other little nuances that create this creature that we all know and love.

Let’s start with the obvious, the turtle’s shell. It is the crem de’la crème of the turtle’s means of keeping safe. Even over the last two hundred million years the turtles shell remains pretty much the same, simply because it would be hard to improve on this handy protection on their backs. From hard shells to soft shells, all turtles carry them. There are two parts to a turtles shell the top or “upper” part is called the carapace, while the bottom (or underside) is called the plastron. Of which is made up of small bony plates that resemble that of a baby’s skull in the way of the shells ability to grow; due to the nature of the shells un-fused plates.

Past the shell you have many other things that keep a turtle going. From a skeletal system, respiratory system, circulatory system, nervous system, digestive system, and a both reproductive and excretory systems; all of which are much the same as any other animal on the planet, save for positioning.

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