SmedlyButler
Gold Member
![3-turtle-worship-link1-%5BEri.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asianturtleprogram.org%2Fpages%2Fturtle-bulletin%2FBulletin104_01Nov13%2F3-turtle-worship-link1-%255BEri.jpg&hash=a2468411bc90c38d9bfa72ede10d836c)
Locals in Wuhan worship a Turtle after it was found near the Yangtze. They prayed for good luck and health. After an appropriate time it was donated to the local aquarium.
Turtles have been valued and worshipped in many cultures. Not all Turtle gods were benevolent. A religious cult of the ancient Turtle Civilization of the South Pacific worshipped a turtle god called Namusan Sapou. It was said that the god would feast on young virgins as snacks, uttering the holy cry Myah.
Turtles are depicted in rock art, cave painting and petroglyphs found all over the world. For Australian aborigines turtles were one of their favorite subjects;
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![330px-Yankee_Hat_art-MJC.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F7%2F7a%2FYankee_Hat_art-MJC.jpg%2F330px-Yankee_Hat_art-MJC.jpg&hash=d3483de52ff8db0f3425c780ea706542)
Below is Baja California rock art possibly 7,500 years old.
![rockart%20turtle.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lasecomujeres.org%2Fimages%2Frockart%2520turtle.jpg&hash=0636e0d4e061583038c1e37d7f4e87bc)
Turtle species are found all over the world. There are about 300 species and 14 families extant in the world today.
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Modern turtles evolved in the late triassic (215 million years ago)
Scientific classification Linnaeus, 1758
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Sauropsida
Order: Testudines (=Chelonii)
Temporal range: Late Triassic Holocene ( 215 million years ago to present)
"A turtle's shell is unique in that it is made up of around 50 bones, with ribs, shoulder bones and vertebrae fused together to form a hard external shell."
"How it forms today can be observed in a developing turtle embryo. Ribs broaden first followed by the broadening of vertebrae. The final state is the development of an outer layer of skin on the perimeter of the shell".
"The turtle shell is a complex structure whose initial transformations started over 260 million years ago in the Permian period," said lead author of the study, Dr Tyler Lyson from the Smithsonian Institution and Yale University".
"The shell evolved over millions of years and was gradually modified into its present-day shape."
Many turtle species are endangerd today including 4 of the 7 Sea Turtle species (Hawksbill Turtle Leatherback Turtle Green Turtle Loggerhead) and 17 of the 25 Asian Turtle species. Reasons for endangerment are the usual suspects, hunting, capture for pets and habitat destruction among others.