Trivia question for Mar-29-2011

Carter’s up today and this is what he came up with:  Is it a Turtle, is it a Snake?  This odd looking reptile’s most distinctive feature its extremely long neck.  In some cases, this turtle’s neck can be as long as its shell.

These guys are carnivorous, eating a variety of animals. This includes insects, worms, tadpoles, frogs, small fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. In early summer, the female will lay between 2 and 10 eggs in the banks of her aquatic habitat. Three to five months later the hatchlings break out of their shells. These young turtles often fall prey to predators such as fish and birds.

So here are Carter’s questions.  Tell us the proper name for a turtles shell and tell us what this turtles main defense mechanisms is?  Also, tell us why this turtle is refered to as a Tortoise in its homeland?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to Arkte Spirit for being the first with the correct answer.  We had lots of responses to this trivia but she was the first.  The smelly turtle we featured is in fact the Eastern Long-Necked Turtle.   These guys are also known as the eastern snake-necked turtle, common snake-necked turtle or common long-necked turtle.

A turtles shell is called a “Carapace”.  These turtles are found in the inland slow-moving freshwater habitats such as swamps, dams, and lakes of Australia, from northern Queensland to South Australia.  They prefer a soft, sandy bottom and will bask on logs or rocks during the day.

When it feels threatened, this turtle will emit an offensive smelling fluid from its musk glands (arm pit area).  This trait gives the turtle one of its other common names, “stinker.”

In Australia, these turtles are referred to as tortoises to make the distinction between these and sea turtles.   In America, we reserve the term Tortoise for totally land dwelling species.   Here is more on these odd looking turtles: Eastern Long-Necked Turtle

Thanks for playing along 😉