Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Turtle and The Hair! by N.V. Smith Turtle Facts. Turtles are reptiles with hard shells that protect them from predators. They are among the oldest and most primitive groups of reptiles, having evolved millions of years ago. Turtles live all over the world in almost every type of climate. According to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the turtle order, Testudines (or Chelonia), splits into two suborders, Cryptodira and Pleurodira, and then further splits into 13 families, 75 genera and more than 300 species. "Turtle," "tortoise" and "terrapin" are often used interchangeably as synonyms, but there are distinct differences between the types of chelonians, according to the San Diego Zoo: Turtles spend most of their lives in water. They are adapted for aquatic life, with webbed feet or flippers and a streamlined body. Sea turtles rarely leave the ocean, except to lay eggs in the sand. Freshwater turtles live in ponds and lakes, and they climb out of the water onto logs or rocks to bask in the warm sun. Tortoises are land animals. Their feet are round and stumpy, adapted for walking on land. They also dig burrows with their strong forelimbs, and slip underground when the sun gets too hot. Terrapins live on land and in water, usually in swamps, ponds, lakes and rivers. With so many different types of turtle, there is no average size. The largest sea turtle species is the leatherback turtle. It weighs 600 to 1,500 lbs. (272 to 680 kilograms) and is about 4.5 to 5.25 feet (139 to 160 centimeters) long, according to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF). The Galápagos tortoise grows up to 6 feet (183 cm) long and 573 lbs. (260 kg), according to the San Diego Zoo. The largest freshwater turtle in North America is the alligator snapping turtle. It can grow to 2.5 feet (80 cm) long and weigh as much as 200 lbs. (91 kg). The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is the largest softshell turtle. It measures up to 3.6 feet (1 m) across, and weigh up to 309 lbs. (140 kg). One of the smallest turtles is the speckled Cape tortoise, according to the San Diego Zoo. Its shell is 3.1 inches (7.9 cm) long. It weighs about 5 ounces (142 grams). Shell. A turtle's shell is a modified ribcage and part of its vertebral column, according to the Animal Diversity Web (ADW) at the University of Michigan. The top part of the shell is called the carapace, and the bottom is called the plastron, according to the San Diego Zoo. The shell is made up of about 60 bones that are covered by plates called scutes. Scutes are made of keratin, the same material that makes up humans' fingernails. Many turtles are able to retract their heads and feet into their shells. Turtles are placed in the two suborders based on the method of retraction, according to ADW. Pleurodires pull their heads in sideways; cryptodires draw their heads straight back into the shell. Sea turtles have lost the ability to retract their heads. Habitat. Turtles are very adaptive and can be found on every continent, except Antarctica. Most turtle species are found in southeastern North America and South Asia. Only five species live in Europe, according to Drs. Foster and Smith, a veterinarian business based in Wisconsin. Here are some examples of different types of turtles and where they can be found: Sea turtles can be found in the Coral Triangle, an area that includes the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea; coastal East Africa; the Mesoamerican Reef in the Caribbean; the Galápagos Islands; and the Gulf of California. The African helmeted turtle is the most common turtle in Africa, according to Animal Planet. It is a hunter-scavenger that eats young birds and small mammals. It steals bait from fishermen's hooks. It also releases a foul-smelling liquid from glands in its legs. Roti Island snake-necked turtles are found only on Roti Island, a 62-square-mile (161 square km) island in Indonesia, according to the San Diego Zoo. Habits. Turtles are not social creatures. While they typically don’t mind if there are other turtles around them, they don’t interact or socialize, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Most turtles are active during the day, spending their time foraging for food. Turtles are not silent creatures. Some sound like electric motors, some sound like belching humans and some bark like dogs. The red-footed tortoise from South America clucks like a chicken. Most turtles are omnivores; they eat a variety of different things, depending on their species. Musk turtles eat mollusks, plants, small fish and insects. The cooter turtle is mostly vegetarian, and the green sea turtle only eats grasses and algae. The alligator snapping turtle lures in fish with its tongue, which looks like a worm. It wiggles its tongue to attract a hungry fish and then snaps down on it with its strong jaw. It also eats aquatic plants, snakes, frogs, fish, worms, clams, crayfish and other turtles. Offspring. All turtles lay eggs. They find a place on land to lay their eggs, dig a nest into the sand or dirt and then walk away. No species of turtle nurtures their young. [Photos: Thousands of Baby Turtles Hatch in Brazil] Turtles reach the age to mate at different times. Some come of age as young as a few years old, while others don’t reach sexual maturity until around 50 years has passed. Some species fight for the right to mate with a female, while others seduce her with a mating ritual. To mate, male and female turtles intertwine their tails so that their shell openings line up perfectly. Sea turtles travel from the ocean to lay eggs on beaches. Usually, sea turtles lay around 110 eggs in a nest, though the flatback turtle only lays 50 at a time. The temperature of the sand affects the sex of the turtle. The perfect beach temperature produces an equal number of male and female offspring. Due to rising temperatures, too many sea turtle females are being born, contributing to the decline in species numbers, according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy. Classification/taxonomy. Here is the taxonomy of turtles according to theIntegrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS): Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Bilateria Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Reptilia Order: Testudines (also called Chelonia) Suborders: Cryptodira, Pleurodira Families: 13, including Chelydridae (snapping turtles), Dermochelyidae (leatherback sea turtles), Trionychidae (soft-shelled turtles), Testudinidae (tortoises) Genera & species: There are 75 genera and more than 300 species. Conservation status. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), many turtle species are listed as threatened, endangered or critically endangered. For example, the ploughshare tortoise and radiated tortoise are estimated to be extinct in the next 45 years. Other facts. The earliest known turtle fossils are from the Triassic Period, about 220 million years ago. Anatomically, they are nearly identical to modern turtles., according to ADW. Sea turtles have been around for 120 million years, according to a recent analysis. The now-extinct Desmatochelys padillai turtle skeleton was found in Villa de Leyva, Colombia, and is 25 million years older than the Santanachelys gaffneyi turtle from Brazil that previously held the record for the world's oldest sea turtle fossil. "The cool thing about this turtle is that it's really old, but it's not very primitive," said James Parham, an assistant professor of geological sciences at California State University, Fullerton, who inspected the fossil with other researchers. A pair of Russian tortoises went into space. In 1968, the Soviet Union launched Zond 5, a space probe that was the first spacecraft to orbit the moon. It returned safely and the tortoises survived. They had lost about 10 percent of their body weight, but they remained active and showed no loss of appetite, according to NASA. Turtle.

Turtle ( ウミガメ , Umigame , lit. "Sea Turtle") is Master Roshi's friend and long-time companion. The good-natured, lovable turtle lives in Kame House with the elderly hermit. Contents. Appearance. ​It is a turtle like all with a brown shell the body light white, its fins have many black spots just like its head. Personality. His personality is strict and virtuous, exactly the opposite of Master Roshi's, and so he often acts as Roshi's chaperon. [1] As well as being kind- hearted, he also has a sense of gratitude as he brought Master Roshi to Goku and Bulma with intention in rewarding them (specifically and mainly Goku) as a thank you for returning him to the sea. In Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot during the game's first Sub Story, Turtle is shown to resort to stealing Master Roshi's Dirty Magazine and burying it to force Master Roshi to control his sinful desires. However, Master Roshi enlists Goku to find Turtle and get the magazine back. Goku finds out Turtle is behind Kame House from Bulma and asks him about the magazine. Turtle reveals he hid it and doesn't plan on telling Goku where it is as he is doing it for Master Roshi's own good. However, he slips up by saying it is in the ground where it should be revealing to Goku that he buried it. Goku searches around outside Kame House and finds it buried near a palm tree on the side of Kame House and digs up the Key Item Girly Book which he returns to a grateful Master Roshi who notes he was right to take Goku on as his student and says that he's counting on him the next time Turtle tries to hide it again indicating it is likely he's pulled similar stunts in the past in the hope it will force Master Roshi to live a more virtuously. Biography. Background. He used to be just an ordinary loggerhead turtle, but became able to speak after living over many centuries with Master Roshi. Dragon Ball. Emperor Pilaf Saga. Turtle mistaken for a rock. After a year of being lost while picking mushrooms (in the Funimation dub this was changed to him getting in a race with a hare as a reference to the classic table " The Tortoise and the Hare " presumably in reference to Goku's habit of mistakingly calling Turtle a Tortoise ), Turtle ended up in Skull Valley one morning where he met Goku and was almost mistaken for a rock. After Bulma gave him some sea water, Goku decided to take Turtle 100 miles on his back to return him to the sea. On the way he was going to be eaten by a Bear Thief, but Goku defeated him very easily and continued on their way. When he got brought back, he went back to Kame House to get his owner, Master Roshi who rewarded Goku with the Flying Nimbus and Bulma with the three star Dragon Ball. Turtle saw Goku again when he came with Chi-Chi to retrieve the Bansho Fan from Roshi, but Turtle reminded Roshi that he accidentally threw it out and Roshi had to go and put the flames out himself. While Roshi trained Goku and Krillin, Turtle went on vacation. Red Ribbon Army Saga. Main articles: General Blue Saga and Commander Red Saga When Turtle returned from his vacation, Goku and Bulma were at Kame House awaiting a submarine that Krillin and Launch were currently using. Turtle was reunited with his lost son when Goku was catching fish during his wait. Turtle with Master Roshi. Shortly after Goku, Bulma and Krillin left, Captain Dark and his men arrived to try to take over the island. Turtle helps defeat them by making Launch sneeze and turn into her bad form, allowing her to defeat a muscular soldier who was going to shoot her. When Goku, Bulma and Krillin return, Launch's bad form steals the diamond they brought from the Pirate Cave and leaves the island. Soon, General Blue manages to make it on the island and ties everybody up, including Turtle, with magic ropes. Launch's good form comes back and saves the day when she releases Goku and he gets rid of the bomb. Turtle later joins everybody else when they attempt to help Goku fight off the Red Ribbon Army. When the gang gets to the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters, the army was already defeated by Goku. Later, Turtle attends the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament with Launch, Puar, Oolong and Bulma. King Piccolo Saga. Main article: King Piccolo Saga Turtle is seen with Oolong and Puar as Bulma places Chiaotzu and Master Roshi's corpses in freezing capsules just as she did with Krillin. Piccolo Jr. Saga. Turtle reads Roshi's fantasy book. When Goku and Chi-Chi visit Kame House to find info about the Bansho Fan, Turtle reads for them how on to make it in an old fantasy book written by Master Roshi. When reading, Turtle is seen wearing glasses. Dragon Ball Z. Saiyan Saga. Gohan riding Turtle. Turtle is seen at Kame House with Bulma, Krillin and Master Roshi when Goku arrives with Gohan. Little Gohan is seen riding on him happily, and witnesses Raditz inform Goku of his past and who he really is, and kidnaps Gohan, but is later defeated by Piccolo and Goku teaming up. A year later, he is seen with everybody else watching the fight against the Saiyans on television. Frieza-Androids Interlude. Turtle celebrates his 1,000th birthday. In the anime, Turtle celebrates his 1,000th birthday at Kame House with Roshi, Krillin, Maron, Gohan, Chi-Chi, Ox-King, Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong. Androids Saga. Turtle takes a fighting stance against a pair attempting to take advantage of Maron. Turtle defends Maron from two males who arrived at Roshi's Island and tried to take advantage of her. Turtle beats both of them up using martial arts. Maron tries to thank him by kissing him but Turtle hides his head in his shell because he doesn't want to be distrusting to Krillin. However, this upsets Maron and she leaves the island, much to Turtle's shock. World Tournament Saga. Main article: World Tournament Saga Turtle is seen at Kame House with Master Roshi when Gohan tells Krillin about the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. Majin Buu Saga. Main article: Kid Buu Saga It is likely that Turtle was killed when Kid Buu blew up the Earth, but was revived when Dende wished for everyone on Earth to be revived by Porunga. Near the end of the Buu Saga, Turtle appears at Bulma's party. Dragon Ball Super. God of Destruction Beerus Saga. Main article: God of Destruction Beerus Saga Turtle goes to Bulma's birthday which is on a huge cruise liner. "Future" Trunks Saga. Main article: "Future" Trunks Saga When Master Roshi teaches Goku the Evil Containment Wave, the Saiyan practices the technique on Turtle, and uses it successfully after several tries. Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Universal Conflict Saga. Main article: Universal Conflict Saga Turle watches as Master Roshi destroys a shard of the God Meteor. Dragon Ball GT. Shadow Dragon Saga. Main article: Shadow Dragon Saga Turtle is one of the few characters that Goku bids farewell to after departing with Shenron. Film Appearances. Curse of the Blood Rubies. Main article: Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies Turtle makes a brief appearance at Kame House when Goku and his friends arrive to visit Master Roshi. Mystical Adventure. Main article: Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure Turtle accompanies Master Roshi, Goku and Krillin on their visit to Mifan so that they can take part in a Martial Arts Tournament. The Path to Power. Turtle in The Path to Power. While Oolong is driving, he narrowly avoids running over Turtle while crossing the road. Turtle explains to Goku and Bulma that while he was on a trip to gather mushrooms he got lost a year ago. He asks them if they can help him return to the sea and they do so. He asks them to wait for him as he goes to fetch their reward and returns the next morning with Master Roshi. He is later caught up in the troubles with the Red Ribbon Army until Goku puts an end to them. Dead Zone. Main article: Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone Turtle appears briefly at Kame House when Goku heads there to retrieve the Dragon Radar from Bulma. The World's Strongest. Main article: Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest When the Bio-Man arrive at Kame House in search of Master Roshi, Turtle is the one to greet them. Other Dragon Ball Stories. Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! Turtle in Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! Main article: Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! Two years after Kid Buu's defeat, Turtle is attending Mr. Satan's banquet at his newly made hotel for defeating Buu along Master Roshi and co. On the way to the banquet, Goku gets Turtle's name wrong, saying "Urigome" rather than "Umigame". At the banquet, the celebration is then crashed by a brother duo, Abo and Cado, whom are after Vegeta's brother, Tarble. The brothers are challenged by Goten and Trunks but they fail in defeating them. The brothers, merged as Aka, unleash a technique that destroyed the hotel. Aka is then defeated by Goku with a Kamehameha. After this encounter, they continue their feast. Kakarot. In Kakarot , Turtle appears as one of several supporting characters that appear as NPCs. During Saiyan Saga Episode 1 , when Goku takes Gohan to Kame House to introduce him to Master Roshi, Krillin, Bulma, and Turtle, Goku greets Turtle but retains his habit of calling him Tortoise causing Turtle to correct him. Turtle is acting oddly and suddenly Master Roshi shouts in anger, causing Turtle to leave abruptly. Master Roshi appears and realizes Turtle fled and tells Goku that Turtle stole his book. This triggers the game's first Sub Story " Master Roshi's Prized Possession ". Sub Story - Master Roshi's Prized Possession. Goku asks what kind of book it is and Master Roshi calls it a "Swimsuit Collection". Goku thinks to himself the perverted old hermit hasn't changed and goes to find Turtle so he can get Master Roshi's book back for him. He asks Bulma who tells him that she saw Turtle go behind Kame House. Goku finds Turtle and asks him about the book. Turtle claims he did it for Master Roshi's own good as he needs to learn self control and refuses to tell Goku where he hid it. However, he slips up when he says it's in the ground where it belongs revealing to Goku that he buried it. Goku searches around outside Kame House and finds where he buried the Girly Book and returns it to Master Roshi who is pleased to have his magazine back. He notes he was right to take Goku on as a student and says he is counting on him to find it again if Turtle tries hiding it again. This ends the first Sub Story. Post Saiyan Saga Episode 2. After Goku's death while fighting Raditz alongside Piccolo, Turtle appears at Blake Bog. It is implied that he got lost again and ended up at Blake Bog in the Central Plains Area during the period that the Z Warriors were training to confront the Saiyans. However, eventually he apparently manages to find his way back to Kame House without assistance indicating he's gotten better at finding his way back to the sea on his own. Frieza Saga Episode 1 Sub Story Tough Break for Turtle. Turtle inside Kame House during the point where the Sub Story "Tough Break for Turtle" becomes available in Kakarot. During Frieza Saga Episode 1 before Gohan, Krillin, and Bulma leave for Planet Namek, Gohan can find Turtle inside Kame House. Speaking to him will trigger the Sub Story " Tough Break for Turtle ". Gohan notices Turtle looks troubled and asks what's bothering him. Turtle reveals he noticed that Master Roshi's refrigerator is low on food. Gohan offers to help him restock the refrigerator and Turtle tells him what they need. He notes one of the items they need is a special type of Tomato which one can only get from a farm located in Southwest Mountains Area which happens to be down the road from Goku's House on the riverside opposite of Diablo Desert. Gohan goes to collect the Tomato and other ingredients. Once he acquires all of them he returns to Kame House. Turtle is relieved that they have managed to restock the refrigerator. However Master Roshi comes in and asks what they were doing and Gohan tells him about restocking the refrigerator. Master Roshi decides to celebrate Gohan's visit and helpfulness by holding a party. After the party, Gohan and Turtle lament the food they collected is gone and their back to square one. However Roshi tells them not to worry as he will go grocery shopping to restock the refrigerator. This puts Turtle's mind at ease and he thanks Gohan for his help. Completing this Sub Story rewards the player with Turtle's Soul Emblem and unlocks his Z Encyclopedia entry in the Characters section. Power. Turtle is just a giant turtle. He possesses little martial art skills, ki abilities or anything unnatural traits. Turtle's power level is 0.001 early in Dragon Ball Z , as revealed when Bulma tests Raditz's scouter in the Vegeta Saga. This is most likely a joke, as in a later filler episode, Turtle easily fends off a pair of young men to protect Maron using Toshio's Turtle Style. On a similar note, he used a move similar to Rapid Movement to stand in front of Maron against the aforementioned two men before beating them up. Appearances in other media. Live-action Movie. Turtle's Live-action appearance. Turtle appears in the 1990 Korean adaption, Dragon Ball: Ssawora Son Goku, Igyeora Son Goku . He is not played by an actor but instead a puppet with a voice actor. The Turtle and The Hair! by N.V. Smith. March 31, 2010 peanutbutterandjulie. So after 9 odd years of trying to tame my hair, I’ve finally found a routine that works. And that doesn’t waste hours of my life. I have naturally wavy/curly hair so I used to wash, blowdry, and straighten my hair every day. But it would still frizz 20 minutes after straightening. So I tried serums and lotions, but they never really worked. So I started using a big curling iron on the ends after I straightened it because this seemed to keep the ends from frizzing up. I could smell my hair burning…it took me half an hour to do my hair…and it was only getting harder and harder to tame because I was damaging it so much. So I chopped it off into an angled bob. It was cute, but high maintenance because it looked horrid curly so I still had to straighten it all the time. My hair has finally grown out to a nice length again and it has never been healthier or easier to manage because of these steps: 1. I make myself get my hair trimmed every 6-8 weeks. I tell them to trim it, but to keep as much length as possible. 2. I have layers in my hair. My shortest layer starts at my chin and goes all the way around, giving my hair volume, and bringing out the waves in my hair when I let it air dry. 3. I only wash it every other day. Every other night I wash my hair and then blow dry it (or let it air dry if I wear it wavy). Then when I wake up I quickly run a straightener over it instead of the usual death grip I use. 4. I use a heat guard and a straightening cream. Before I blow dry, I put both of these in my hair. I end up with smooth hair that has a bit of wave at the end, instead of frizzy, dry ends, and I think this is thanks to the heat protectant and cream. I also think breaking up when I blowdry and straighten helps too. I felt like a turtle, thinking I’d never find the day when I crossed the finish line to having hair I can actually deal with, but I guess slow and steady really does win the race. Maturin. A Turtle of massive size with an ancient appearance, Maturin existed long before the creation of the mainstream universe in Stephen King's novels. By nature, Maturin was kind, wise, loving, gentle, compassionate, benevolent, and had a very grandfather-like demeanor when he spoke to humans. Maturin was said to be constantly withdrawn into his shell, sleeping and rarely ever coming out for anything. One of the occasions that Maturin did come out of his shell was when he had a stomachache which caused him to vomit out the mainstream universe, after which he promptly retreated back into his shell. Because of that, It (a creature that existed in the void within the Macroverse and was an adversary of Maturin, described by the latter as his "brother") considered the Turtle to be old, lazy, and stupid. However, given his vast amount of wisdom, power, and the aid, Maturin provided to those in need of it, It's perceptions of him seemed to be false. In It , Maturin seemed to serve largely as a spectator to the events that unfolded in the battle between It and the Losers' Club. Maturin only involved himself and advised the young Bill Denbrough during the Ritual of Chüd in 1958, while Gan provided the Losers with most of their strength. Maturin initially politely introduced himself to Bill, and upon his plea for help simply stated that he “took no stand” in the matters at hand. However, after considering his “brother” with some disdain and contempt, Maturin swiftly provided great council and advice to the young man, assuring that It was ultimately afraid of Bill, human potential, and of the Turtle himself. Maturin ultimately urged Bill to battle the monstrous being with his willpower, mental strength, and internal faith and believe. With the Turtle’s encouragement and support; Bill overpowers and badly wounds It; forcing It into retreat. Before once again retreating into his colossal shell for another untold lengthy slumber, Maturin compliments Bill on his victory, but sagely cautions him to finish It off once and for all, as he may not get another opportunity to do so. In the Novel. When the Losers faced It once again as adults 27 years later, It gleefully told Bill that Maturin was dead; having choked to death on a galaxy or two some time ago. When the Ritual of Chud started again in 1985, Bill was presented with the gargantuan corpse of the Turtle, and saw to his horror that It did not lie. Allusions. IT (2017) and IT Chapter 2 (2019) While Maturin does not make an appearance in either of the movies, there are allusions/nods to his existence in the films: The Turtle and The Hair! by N.V. Smith. My newest friends comprise a group of athletes of varying skill level who have dogs, or like to spend time with dogs. We have done a few hikes together and I have discovered that our fitness levels balance out because the ultra runner's dog is her weak link while I am my pack's weak link. A few weeks ago I could see that she was barely able to contain her urge to take off running but her large dog was not the least bit interested in picking up his meandering pace. Thank goodness. This weekend we are all setting out for Stanley, but at varying times and speeds. She will begin her gazelle-like pace at Quarry Bay at 7am, whereby she will take the most circuitous route to the beach. Her boyfriend will jog a more direct route at a more leisurely pace with their dog for as far as the dog feels like going and then take a taxi the rest of the way. I will depart from Parkview with my two pups at 8am and anticipate a slow trudge over the Twins while wheezing like a dying water buffalo. As usual, my dogs will scamper ahead of me while frequently running back to check on me and make sure that I haven't collapsed before giving them treats and water. The last group will skip the hike and taxi to Stanley due to owner injuries (you would be amazed at the number of Crossfit casualties) or because their dogs are of the toy class with delicate paws and long coats. We will all meet up for the most frivolous of activities: ice cream with the canines. SB has never allowed me to take the dogs for ice cream but he's away so the pups will play. Threatened: A Green-Haired Turtle That Can Breathe Through Its Genitals. In the debate over saving endangered species, it may be that some should get priority just because of how weird they are. Take the green-haired turtle. It breathes through its genitals. Not all the time — but after a long time underwater, an alternative way to get oxygen really helps. The turtle is thirtieth on a new list of reptiles in trouble put out by the Zoological Society of London. The Edge of Existence program at the society looks at the evolutionary trees of animals that are endangered to determine which are most evolutionary distinctive. Previously, they put out lists for mammals and amphibians. The new list ranks reptiles on a combination of how distinctive and how endangered they are. Rikki Gumbs and other researchers at the society who worked on the new list wrote a paper explaining how they arrive at the rankings, which was published in the journal PLOS One on Wednesday. Mr. Gumbs, who is pursuing a Ph.D. jointly at Imperial College London and the zoological society, said that evolutionary distinctiveness is not exactly the same as weirdness, but not far off. It is a measure of “how alone you are on the tree of life,” he said. Those species do “tend to be weird and wonderful in the way they live.” The one with the green “mohawk” hair (actually algae), formally known as the Mary River turtle, is an Australian species that split from other living species about 40 million years ago. It has special organs in its cloaca that allow it to draw oxygen from the water. It can stay underwater for up to three days. No. 1 on the list is the Madagascar big-headed turtle, according to the Edge site, “sits alone at the end of a branch of the tree of life which stretches back more than 80 million years to the age of the dinosaurs.” Others in the top five distinctive reptiles on the list are, in order, the Central American river turtle, the Madagascar blind snake, the Chinese alligator and the Chinese crocodile lizard, the only species in its genus and family, with an evolutionary history going back 100 million years. The population is down to about 1,000 individuals.