Friday, January 16, 2015

Don't Get A Big Head


It seems that I've been writing a lot of blogs about turtles lately. I don't why I've taken such a liking to them. Maybe it's the way that they eat lettuce. Today's turtle Tuesday is about a funny little guy with a......large head. Rightly named the Big-headed turtle. This poor guy's head is so huge that he can't even retract his head into his shell like a normal turtle. It measures to be about 7 inches in length, but keep in mind that half that length is taken up by a long, snake like tail. The other half is a little bit of shell with a lot of head. It's not very equipped for swimming. Its stubby, strong legs are better equipped for climbing the rocky streams of Southeast Asia. When those streams dry up, they can then migrate to find another stream.

As I said before, the Big-headed turtle can't pull its head back into its shell. Because of this, the turtle makes up for it by having a very heavily armored face. That huge head is not without its perks. Those strong jaws can deliver a serious bite that can break bone. The tail is less for defense and more for moving through streams. It probably also assists in providing balance would be my guess.
Unfortunately, like many turtles in Southeast Asia, these turtles are endangered. It is believed that this is due to the cuisine. There are more turtles in the market place than in the wild.

Links: http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop16/big-headed-turtle.html
http://www.tnaqua.org/our-animals/reptiles/chinese-big-headed-turtle

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