Chelonia

Biology Encyclopedia	Chelonia Author, 3000 “translation of the latin”
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Common Names

Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins. Biologically all members of this order are correctly called Turtles. Tortoises and terrapins are certainly turtles; “tortoise” is usually applied to terrestrial turtles, particularly the larger ones; “terrapin” is usually applied to edible, more or less aquatic hardshelled turtles. The Family Testudinidae is the only Chelonia family considered to be composed of true tortoises.

Latin Synonyms

Testudines

Linnaean Rank

Order

Ancestral Phylogeny and Taxonomy

Amniota	†Casineria
	Synapsida	"†Pelycosaurs"
		Therapsida	†Biamosuchia
			Eutherapsida
	Sauropsida	Anapsida	†Mesosauridae
			†Millerettidae
			†Procolophonidae
			†Pareiasauridae
			†Nyctiphruretidae
			†Lanthanosuchidae
			Chelonia
		Diapsida	†Araeoscelida
			†Younginiformes
			Sauria
			†Diapsida inc sed.

Explanation of phylogenetic trees

Lineage

Terrabiota, Cytota, Neomura, Eukaryota, Unikonta, Opisthokonta, Animalia, Metazoa, Eumetazoa, Bilateria, Deuterostomia, Cyrtotreta, Chordata, Notochordata, Vertebrata, Gnathostomata,, Teleostomi, Euteleostomi, Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha, Tetrapoda, Reptilomorpha, Cotylosauria, Amniota, Sauropsida, Anapsida

Descendant Phylogeny and Taxonomy

Morphology

Distribution

Ecology

Ethology

Evolution

Development

Ethnobiology

Population

Notes and Comments

References

Literature

Ernst, Carl H. and Roger W. Barbour. 1989. Turtles of the world. Smithsonian Institution Press.

Ernst, Carl H., Jeffrey E. Lovich and Roger W. Barbour. 1994. Turtles of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press.

Information on the Internet