If you happen to be wandering the Mojave Desert and come across a desert tortoise, don’t poke around the critter too closely—you could end up covered with a surprise spray of artificial grape fluid.

Shell integration typically involves 50 to 60 individual bones fusing into a permanent structural cage. The carapace creates a mechanical constraint that prevents the chest from expanding during ...

In cartoons, when a turtle is spooked, it retreats into and closes up its shell. While used for comic effect, this imagery is based in fact – although not all turtles are capable of this protective ...

Here’s something you might not know about tortoises: They have nerve endings in their shells, which means they can feel it when you pet them. If you don’t believe it, watch Redfoot wiggle around when ...

Scientists have identified a new ichnospecies from the shell of an extinct marine turtle fossil, the first known species coexisting on living marine vertebrates. While paleontologists have a wealth of ...

Paleobiologists have discovered exceptional specimens in Venezuela and Colombia of an extinct giant freshwater turtle called Stupendemys. The carapace of this turtle, which is the largest ever known, ...

Turtles and tortoises, though sharing ancient ancestry and a protective shell, exhibit significant differences in habitat, morphology, and ecological roles. Aquatic turtles possess streamlined shells ...