Cartoons often suggest turtles wear shells like removable armor. Those stories show turtles stepping out, swapping shells, or treating them like clothing. Biology disagrees. A turtle shell is not an ...

Travel back in time to 260 million years ago, just before the dawn of the dinosaur era. Journey to what is now South Africa, and make your way to a river bank. Then, wait. If you’re lucky, you might ...

Critically endangered, radiated tortoises sport star patterns on their shells and live in the forests and scrubland of Madagascar. (Images courtesy Smithsonian's National Zoo) People often use the ...