As we all know, the tortoise is an animal with strong viability. According to different species, its average life span can reach 20 to 50 years, and some species can reach 100
As we all know, the tortoise is an animal with strong viability. According to different species, its average life span can reach 20 to 50 years, and some species can reach 100 to 200 years. But so far, the oldest tortoise has been announced to the world. This is a Galapagos tortoise named Harriet. It died of heart failure in the zoo on June 2006 at 175. Next, I will take you to know about this magical long-lived turtle.
Harriet turtle
Harriet is a giant Galapagos tortoise, born in 1830 and weighing 150kg. It is the oldest surviving tortoise shell reptile certified by Guinness World Records.
Steve irwin, an Australian animal protector, said, "It must be the oldest animal in the world. I think it will definitely live to be 200 years old. " Legend has it that it used to be Darwin's pet.
1835, Darwin ended the global exploration of the battleship Beagle and returned to England with several small turtles. These turtles are both his pets and his research objects, including Harriet, but historians still doubt this statement.
In the past more than a century, it was once mistaken for a male turtle and was named Harry. It was not until 1950s that harriet was able to identify herself and become a female turtle named harriet.
In addition, a line by actor Liao Fan in the movie "Half Sea and Half Flame" mentioned harriet Turtle. Although this line is very pretentious, perhaps the information about the tortoise in harriet can be used for reference: "1836, in the vast Pacific Ocean, a warship named Beagle arrived in the Galapagos Islands in South America. Do you know who is sitting on the boat? On the left side of the warship is my idol: Darwin. He took three turtles from the island, which inspired his great theory of evolution. Among the three turtles, one turtle named Harry was only six years old when he was taken away. It was not until 1960 that we discovered that she was a female turtle! So people renamed it Harriet, and today, it died in Australia at the age of 176. I just mourn for this. "
Morphological Characteristics of Galapagos Elephant Turtle
Galapagos tortoise is the largest tortoise in existence. Body length 1.2m, adult elephant turtle male is larger than female, adult male weighs about 272-320kg, and female is 136- 180kg. Life expectancy can reach 200 years. Big head and long neck. Central protuberance of dorsal nail, 5 vertebral shields; 4 ribs on each side; There are 9 pieces on each side of the edge shield, and the front and rear edges are slightly serrated and slightly upturned; 1 cervical guard; Hip shield is single and large. The limbs are thick and columnar. The carapace, limbs, head and tail are yellowish to bluish black, with irregular black spots on individual vertebral shields and rib shields, and the panels are loose and wrinkled.
Galapagos tortoises have a big, heavy and bony brown shell. It is necessary for the shell plate to rigidly protect the ribs in the skeleton structure. The pattern on the tortoise shell keeps the characteristics of the shell section of the shield. Although the wear degree of the outer layer changes with time, it is not suitable to determine the age by annual growth. However, the back shell plays a good role in protecting the head, neck and forelimbs of the retractable turtle. Legs are big and short, with dry scales and hard scales. There are five claws on the front leg and four on the back leg.
Galapagos turtles are hermaphroditic, and the most obvious hermaphroditism is hermaphroditism. In the shell horseback population, the male turtle has more angles and a higher front opening, which makes it assume a more extreme appearance. Male turtles of all subspecies generally have a long tail, and the sunken and thickened edge of the shell tail is very short, which is convenient for mating.
Due to the obvious differences in ecological environment on different islands in Galapagos Islands, different subspecies of elephant turtles have different shapes and present different types of crustaceans. The shape range of its carapace can be divided into "horseback" * * * to indicate an upward arched shell, with the front edge resembling a saddle * * *, and "dome" * * * to indicate a circular convex surface resembling a dome * * *. There is also an intermediate type between saddle type and dome type. The larger island is 800 meters above sea level, close to the humid highland of Santa Cruz Island, and the ground is rich in vegetation. Turtles born and raised in these environments tend to have bigger domes and shorter necks and limbs. This turtle with a saddle-shaped back shell comes from an island less than 500 meters above sea level, with dry habitat and limited resources such as food.
habitat
Galapagos tortoises with shell-like structures on horseback live in arid environments where tall vegetation grows, such as cacti and cacti in Galapagos Islands. Larger Galapagos tortoises can better adapt to high altitude areas, because they can resist slightly cooler and foggy climate. Generally live in large and humid islands and low altitude areas. In rainy and dry seasons, Galapagos tortoises migrate seasonally from grasslands to areas up to 600 meters above sea level. The same migration route has been established by many generations of turtles as a forest passage, which is defined as "turtle highway". On those rainy islands, turtles with domed shells live in groups, and large groups of saddle turtles are often found in their territory.
Living habits
La pagos turtle is a cold-blooded animal, so it takes 1-2 hours a day to absorb the heat of the sun after dawn, and it takes 8-9 hours a day to feed, mostly walking in the morning and resting at night. It is observed that the walking speed of this species is 0.3 kilometers per hour. They sometimes roll in the mud pit formed by rain, which may be on a cool night to protect their bodies from parasites such as mosquitoes and ticks. Parasites can also be eliminated in a loose soil dust bath.
Galapagos tortoises are herbivores, and their food includes cactus, grass, leaves, moss, lichen and berries. It has been recorded that people still eat guava, water fern and pineapple, with an average daily consumption of 32-36 kg, but the inefficient digestive system makes the nutrient absorption very limited. Their water absorption mainly comes from dew and plant juice, especially cactus plants. Galapagos tortoises can live without water for a long time 18 months if they are deprived of all food and water. When they are thirsty, they will drink a lot of water very quickly and store it in the "pericardium" in the bladder or neck, which is the water source of this species. In arid islands, turtles will lick the morning dew on boulders, because generations of giant turtles repeatedly lick and form semicircular pits on these rocks.
distribution range
Distributed in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, a South American country.
Breeding mode
Galapagos tortoises can breed at any time of the year, but in wet highlands, the peak of breeding is from February to June in rainy season. Mature males will show their advantages during mating season. They stand up with stout legs, stretch their long necks, occasionally bump their heads and bite their mouths, but usually they can determine the mating right in a short time and admit the winner.
The prelude to mating is very positive. The male turtle forcibly presses the female turtle with his own shell and bites its leg. Stretch your limbs, and keep your posture inclined nervously. The concave bottom of the male turtle shell helps it to keep balance, and the vent of the male turtle containing the cloaca is close to the expanded cloaca of the female turtle. During mating, males make hoarse rhythmic sounds, and they also make other sounds during active contact.
During the breeding season from July to165438+1October, adult turtles will travel several kilometers to reach the nesting area on the dry and sandy coast. Digging a nest is a tiring and complicated job. The mother turtle has to work for several hours every day, which may take many days to finish. They first dig a cylindrical hole 30 cm deep with their hind legs, and then lay 16 hard-shell eggs weighing 82 to 157 grams. After laying eggs, the female turtle blocks the nest with mud and urine, compacts and seals it with abdominal armor, and then naturally hatches by the sun. Female turtles may dig 1-4 ovaries in each breeding season. Temperature plays an absolute role in the sex of larvae. Nesting at lower temperatures will produce more males, while nesting at higher temperatures will produce more females.
Galapagos tortoises can distinguish sex at about 15 years old, reach sexual maturity in about 20-25 years, and reach the standard size of adult in the wild in 40 years. Its life span in the wild is over 100 years, and it is one of the longest-lived species in the animal kingdom. Harriet, a specimen kept in the Australian Zoo, is the oldest known Galapagos tortoise. When she died in 2006, she was estimated to be over 170 years old.
Demographic situation
When Darwin first arrived in the Galapagos Islands, there were about 250,000 elephant turtles in the Galapagos Islands, and only 1.5 million were left in 1996. The main reason for the sharp decline in population is that whalers and pirates from 18 to 19 centuries often caught elephant turtles on board as food.
In order to protect these precious species, the Galapagos national park service system culls wild carnivores and competitors on the island, and removes goats that destroy the vegetation on the island.
The breeding and protection program started at 1965, and 7 to 8 endangered subspecies have been successfully reduced to a lower risk level. Young turtles breed in several island breeding centers to improve their fragile living conditions during their early growth. Collecting fragile turtle eggs from nesting sites provides a good start for young turtles. When they are four to five years old, they will be released to the surrounding areas of their hometown, giving them a better chance and living space to grow into turtles.
The most remarkable and effective recovery of the population is Spanish subspecies * * * Chelonoidis nigra hoodensis * *, which was saved from the brink of extinction. There were only three men at first, 12 women. Although they are widely distributed, there is no wild mating. Darwin Research Station has kept the only remaining 15 turtles, and the breeding plan is carried out in 197 1 year. In the following 33 years, their offspring were released to the original home island and naturally propagated to more than 1200 offspring.
According to foreign media reports, the last Pinta turtle in the world died in Ecuador, South America on the 24th local time. It is estimated that his age is about 100 years old, and the relevant personnel in the local park will conduct an autopsy to finally determine his cause of death.
According to reports, this old turtle named "Lonely George" is also considered to be the last Pinta Island turtle of the Galapagos elephant turtle subspecies. It has been in the park for nearly 40 years and has been plagued by lack of interest in the opposite sex. The garden repeatedly urged it to mate with similar female turtles, but failed.
Galapagos tortoises are mainly distributed in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. Known as an elephant turtle because of its huge size, it can live up to 200 years.
Protection level
All of them are listed in IUCN * * * VER 2.3 20 16 Red List of Endangered Species.
Cites Ⅰ I is listed in the Washington Convention to protect animals.