Along with a huge number of living beings capable of moving quickly, our planet is inhabited by many of those for whom speed is an unattainable goal. Nature has endowed these animals with the ability to escape from enemies and to get food for themselves not with speed, but in other ways. The latter include turtles.
Instructions
Step 1
The long-livers of the modern animal world, turtles appeared on Earth 200 million years ago, they differed from the turtles living today in their gigantic size. These reptiles live on all continents of the globe, with the exception of Antarctica.
Step 2
Turtles have many properties that have an important impact on their existence: excellent eyesight, hearing, smell. Of particular interest to many is the question of the speed of movement of reptiles: are they really as slow as it is commonly believed.
Step 3
The slowness of these animals, like the floor, depends on the temperature of the environment in which they are located. If the air temperature is low, the turtle's movements become slower.
Step 4
The speed of movement is influenced by the reptile's lifestyle, which involves dependence on water or land. Turtles that prefer water are fast enough.
Step 5
The main habitat for very large leatherback turtles is water (on land, these reptiles only lay eggs). They excel at deep diving and can travel at speeds in excess of 35 km / h. The speed of movement in the water of leatherback turtles is given by the front flippers, capable of making a large swing, and the teardrop-shaped hydrodynamically adapted body. Speed records among turtles, they can travel enormous distances, traveling from the shores of one continent to another, feeding on jellyfish, hiding in the depths during the daytime and rising to the surface at night.
Step 6
When a person moves slowly, then they can say about him: "Weaves (crawls) like a turtle." But this statement will not always be true for many turtles. A good speed of movement is characteristic not only of animals, mainly living in water, but also of semi-aquatic reptiles. Having got out on land, they are able to move along the ground, developing speeds of up to 10-15 km / h.
Step 7
Huge turtles living in the seas and land turtles are considered very slow, the speed of which does not exceed 700-900 m / h. They are clumsy due to the structure or size of their bodies. According to the latest research carried out by scientists, in terms of the slow speed of movement in the animal world, only snails and a three-toed sloth are second to turtles.
Step 8
There are many interesting stories associated with turtles. In many countries, these animals are treated with special respect, paying tribute to their endurance and other qualities. For example, once the American authorities of the state of Minnesota asked all vehicle owners to give way to turtles crawling out onto the road.
