A Turtle Anatomy Drawing
Head
The above turtle drawing depicts a calm turtle. Whenever turtles feel they are in danger, they bury their heads inside their shells. They feel protected when doing this. Unlike other animals, the ears of a turtle are not external. They hear by feeling vibrations and then interpret them to meet their needs.
Shell
The upper part of the shell is called the carapace, while the lower part is called the plastron. The primary purpose of the upper and lower shells is to provide protection to the turtle whenever it senses danger. Different species of turtles have different shell shapes and color, but in general, they all have a streamlined shell to advance their swimming. The turtle’s shell never falls off and keeps increasing in size as the turtle grows.
Beak
Turtles have no teeth. In their absence, turtles use their beaks to crumble their food. Their beaks are often as sharp as a knife.
In captivity beaks tend to overgrow since pet turtles don’t have enough dirt on their food to cause the beak to wear down. Also, a captive pet turtle will generally get too much protein in its diet, which stimulates extra beak growth.
Limbs
The amphibious turtles, like tortoises, have limbs. Their feet are webbed and often have long claws, which they use to help them climb on top of floating logs in order to bask. Male turtles, which have particularly long claws, appear to use them to motivate the female while mating.
In captivity claws tend to overgrow since turtles don’t abrade them like they would in the wild, especially if the pet turtle is kept inside.
Sea turtles move very slowly. They have flippers instead of feet and they “soar” through the water, using the up and down motions of the front flippers to create thrust. The back feet do not contribute to propulsion, but may be used as rudders for steering. They have very limited mobility on land.
Scutes
Scutes are the bony plates of the shell. In most turtles, their shells grow as the turtle grows and the scutes on the shell flake off to make room for new, larger scutes. Overlapping keratin sheets form the scutes that cover a turtle. The scutes are intermittently rubbed off during activities like swimming and basking in the sun.
Tail
The tail of a turtle has an opening called the cloaca, used by the turtle to perform urinary, fecal, and mating tasks. All male turtles will have a thick tail, longer than that of the female, with the cloaca positioned closer to the end of the tail. While the female will have a thinner, shorter tail, with the cloaca vent located closer to the main body.
