C h e l y d r a . O r g         

Snapping Turtles & Things 
Art  | Photography 
Main Page      | Help | About us | Contact 
 [ Updated ]
 
  Powered by 1&1
  Banner
 


   Main Page

  PUBLISHERS & BUYERS 
   sponsorship
   donations
   publishers
   advertisers
   webstats
   turtle store
   
   contact webmaster
   sign/view guestbook

  INTRODUCTION / HELP 
   turtle train
   walk turtle style
   help & sitemap
   snapping turtle club
   questions & answers
   question of the week
   + past entries
   ask question
   message forum
   turtle chat

  BASIC FACTS 
   what's a turtle ?
   prehistory
   basic anatomy
   + comm. snapper skull
   + allig. snapper skull
   + turtle embryo
   turtle dictionary
   classification

  COMMON 
  SNAPPING TURTLES 

   classification
   identification
   common vs. alligator
   4 subspecies
   + c.s.serpentina
   + c.s.osceola
   + c.s.rossignoni
   + c.s.acutirostris
   prehistory
   geographic range
   habitat
   behavior
   growth
   growth charts
   longevity
   feeding habits
   reproduction

  IN CAPTIVITY 
   acquiring a turtle
   handling snappers
   tank
   enclosure setup
   water
   filtration
   heater
   lighting
   basking light
   basic care
   feeding
   health checkups
   reptile vets
   incubator
   hatchlings

  ALLIGATOR SNAPPING
  TURTLES 

   classification
   identification
   common vs. alligator
   prehistory
   geographic range
   habitat
   behavior
   growth
   growth charts
   longevity
   feeding habits
   reproduction

  ALLIGATOR SNAPPERS 
  IN CAPTIVITY 

   acquiring a turtle
   handling snappers
   tank
   enclosure setup
   water
   filtration
   heater
   lighting
   basking light
   feeding

  ARTICLES 
   turtle personalities
   way of a hunter
   master strategist
   do they really bask ?
   climbing champions
   albino turtles
   trapping & relocation
   traveling with turtles
   misc

  REPTILE VETS 
   reptile vets - intro
   choosing a vet
   finding a vet
   reptile vet listings
   + vets USA
   + vets Canada
   + vets World

  BREEDERS 
  & PET SHOPS 

   pet shops vs. breeders
   pet shop listings
   breeders

  SNAPPERS & LAW 
   C.I.T.E.S.
   trade
   import & export
   laws for Canadians
   laws for USA

  PHOTO GALLERIES 
   common snappers
   alligator snappers
   photos by guests
   albino turtles
   turtles & our cultures
   reptile art
   other species photos

 DOWNLOADS 
   royalty free photos
   free puzzles

  OTHER TURTLE SPECIES 
   photos
   information

  BITS & PIECES 
   post a message
   links
   books
   credits
   copyright info
   about me
  
  Powered by 1&1
  Banner
 
  Sponsor links  
   Pure Healthy Water
 
 THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO THE SNAPPING TURTLES  
 and PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM  
   bookmark us
 

Turtle prehistory 


The first known turtles appeared on Earth in the late Triassic Period - this is
around 200 million years ago, so they are older than many of the well known great dinosaurs!

One of the oldest fossilized turtles is Proganochelys . It looked like a modern turtle, with a fully developed shell, but it had small teeth and ears.

In the middle Jurassic Period the primitive Triassic turtles evolved into two main groups:
side-necked turtles and arch-necked turtles . Unlike Proganochelys, they were able to withdraw their heads into their shells in two different ways. The side-necked turtles retracted their heads sideways, while the arch-necked turtles folded their necks in an S-like shape. Most of the modern turtles and tortoises belong to the arch-necked group, but the largest known fresh-water turtle, Stupendemys geographicus , belonged to the side-necked family. This giant was 8 feet ( 2.4 meters ) and lived in the rivers of the South America until quite recently - about ten thousend years ago.

The first sea turtles appeared during the late Jurassic Era - about 65 million years ago, and during the following Cretaceous Period. The largest ever to exist turtle on Earth, Archelon ischyros, had a body 9.5 to 13 feet long ( 3 -4 meters ). All of our modern sea turtles swam along with this giant.

Archelon ischyros

Photo: Archelon ischyros - reconstruction based on the casts of the bones found in South Dakota. It could have been 20 feet wide from one flipper tip to the other, and lived about 70 million years ago. Image courtesy of the Euro Turtle

Since Jurassic times turtles have evolved into more than 250 species, including about 180 species of freshwater turtles, 60 species of tortoises, and 8 species of sea turtles, with new species still being discovered. Many species are plentiful thanks to the conservation efforts of various countries, however, some are on the verge of extinction due to human exploitation for a large variety of turtle products. Sadly, the number of turtle species might decrease for the first time since they lived with dinosaurs.

C.I.T.I.E.S. is an organization enforcing animal and plant protection laws. Protected turtles include all of the sea turtles, the Galapagos giant tortoises, the radiated tortoise ( Geochelone radiata ) and until recently one of the snapping turtle family members - the alligator snapping turtle Macroclemys Temmincki.

More reading & related links:
 
        Basic snapping turtle info in one file - Introduction to snapping turtles.pdf (116 Kb)  

 


          
back to top      



Google
 
Web www.chelydra.org

© 1998-2006 Stan Gielewski, All Rights Reserved.

Map IP Address
Powered byIP2Location.com