Klassrumslektion · Wildlife · 🇮🇹 Italy

The European pond turtle

A small, freshwater turtle that has lived in Italy's wetlands for millions of years

A European pond turtle with yellow speckles in a wet, leafy habitat

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

Vad är det?

The European pond turtle is a small freshwater turtle - around 20 centimetres long - that lives in slow rivers, marshes and ponds across Italy and other parts of Europe. Its shell is dark green or black, sprinkled all over with little yellow speckles like tiny stars.

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Unlike sea turtles that swim across oceans, pond turtles live their whole lives in the same patch of freshwater. They are excellent swimmers but bask in the sun whenever they can, lining up on logs and warm stones with their necks stretched out. Sunbathing is how they warm their bodies up - they cannot make their own heat the way we do.

Pond turtles eat almost everything they can find in the water: insects, small fish, snails, tadpoles, even bits of plant. They have a hard, sharp beak instead of teeth, which they use to grab and tear food. When they spot something good, they suddenly extend their long neck and SNAP - it disappears.

Their shell is made of more than 50 bones fused together. It is part of their actual skeleton, not something they can take off. When they are scared, they pull their head, legs and tail inside the shell and wait, like a knight in armour. They can stay tucked away for hours.

Turtles are some of the oldest animals on Earth. Their ancestors were swimming around at the same time as the dinosaurs. The European pond turtle's design has barely changed in millions of years - which suggests it is a pretty good design.

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Prata tillsammans

Diskussionsfrågor

01Why would it help to be able to pull your head and legs inside your shell?
02Turtles need to bask in the sun to warm up. What does your family do to warm up on a cold day?
03Turtles have not changed much in millions of years. What does that tell us about whether their design works?

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Klassrumsaktivitet

On A4, draw your own turtle with a personalised pattern on its shell - your name, your favourite colour, a story of you. Cut them out, label them, and pin them in a 'turtle parade' across one classroom wall.

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