Reptiles - Green Sea Turtle
Classification
Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata
Class - Reptilia
Order - Testudines
Family - Cheloniidae
Genus - Chelonia
Species - Chelonia Mydas
Morphology
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Biology
The green turtle has particularly slow growth rates and appears to take longer to become reproductively mature than any other sea turtle species, with age at sexual maturity ranging from 26 to 40 years. Unlike other marine turtles, the adult green turtle is almost exclusively herbivorous, grazing on sea grasses and algae, whilst the young are typically omnivorous, commonly feeding on jellyfish, molluscs and sponges.
Distribution Map
Importance
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Facts
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Vocabulary
1. Bycatch - In the fishing industry, the part of the catch made up of non-target species.
2. Carapace - The top shell of a turtle. In arthropods (insects, crabs etc), the fused head and thorax (the part of the body located near the head) also known as ‘cephalothorax’.
3. Molluscs - A diverse group of invertebrates, mainly marine, that have one or all of the following; a horny, toothed ribbon in the mouth (the radula), a shell covering the upper surface of the body, and a mantle or mantle cavity with a type of gill. Includes snails, slugs, shellfish, octopuses and squid.
4. Omnivore - An organism that feeds on both plants and animals.
5. Plastron - In reptiles, the ventral shell of a turtle or tortoise.
Resources
http://www.conserveturtles.org/
http://www.arkive.org/
Birds - Emperor Penguin
Classification
Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata
Class - Aves
Order - Sphenisciformes
Family - Spheniscidae
Genus - Aptenodytes
species - Aptenodytes forsteri
Morphology
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Biology
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Distribution Map
Importance
Ecological and Economical
Emperor penguins are seriously threatened by global warming, which causes profound changes in the Antarctic ecosystem and impacts them in diverse ways, such as reducing populations of prey species and causing ice shelves to collapse and icebergs to calve. These penguins are also threatened by industrial fisheries, which further reduce prey availability, and human disturbance at breeding colonies. Research on the extraordinary abilities of Emperor penguins to withstand extreme cold, and to successfully reproduce under those conditions, can help us to understand and appreciate the evolution of these incredible adaptations.
Vocabulary
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Facts
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