Talk:Turtle

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	Turtle is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.
	This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on May 23, 2022.
Article milestones Date Process Result July 12, 2021 Good article nominee Listed August 9, 2021 Featured article candidate Not promoted September 25, 2021 Peer review Reviewed October 28, 2021 Featured article candidate Promoted Current status: Featured article

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Amphibians and Reptiles Top‑importance Turtle is part of WikiProject Amphibians and Reptiles, an effort to make Wikipedia a standardized, informative, comprehensive and easy-to-use resource for amphibians and reptiles. If you would like to participate, you can choose to edit this article, or visit the project page for more information. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Turtles (inactive) This article is within the scope of WikiProject Turtles, a project which is currently considered to be inactive. Tree of Life Mid‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Tree of Life, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of taxonomy and the phylogenetic tree of life on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.

Section sizes Section size for Turtle (38 sections) Section name Byte count Section total (Top) 3,934 3,934 Naming and etymology 2,418 2,418 Anatomy and physiology 84 35,159 Size 1,950 1,950 Shell 6,483 6,483 Head and neck 4,696 4,696 Limbs and locomotion 3,370 3,370 Senses 5,375 5,375 Breathing 5,616 5,616 Circulation 3,120 3,120 Osmoregulation 2,194 2,194 Thermoregulation 2,271 2,271 Behavior 15 13,155 Diet and feeding 3,179 3,179 Communication and intelligence 5,815 5,815 Defense 815 815 Migration 3,331 3,331 Reproduction and life cycle 1,767 10,362 Courtship and mounting 3,070 3,070 Eggs and hatchlings 3,877 3,877 Lifespan 1,648 1,648 Systematics and evolution 95 29,349 Fossil history 8,028 8,028 External relationships 8,390 8,390 Internal relationships 8,051 8,051 Differences between the two suborders 4,785 4,785 Distribution and habitat 4,730 4,730 Conservation 12,315 12,315 Human uses 16 17,906 On space flights 1,062 1,062 In culture 10,265 10,265 As pets 1,408 1,408 As food and other uses 5,155 5,155 See also 37 37 References 15 573 Citations 36 36 Cited sources 522 522 External links 712 712 Total 130,650 130,650

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That's a tortoise not a turtle

Turtle. Flippers, lives in the sea Tortoise. Legs, can't swim. Lives on land 82.47.193.8 (talk) 22:53, 8 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

See section "Naming and etymology". --Jens Lallensack (talk) 23:04, 8 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Megacephaly

User:LittleJerry You removed what I wrote on megacephaly, citing that it wasn't helpful. Could you elaborate? Bloopityboop (talk) 07:54, 11 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Because the article already states "Some turtle species have developed large and thick heads, allowing for greater muscle mass and stronger bites". LittleJerry (talk) 14:18, 11 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That means something completely different to what I wrote however. Please reread what I wrote. Megacephaly is a condition that individuals within certain species can develop, not a characteristic of certain species as a whole.

But even if what you quoted referred to the same thing (which it doesn't), what I wrote would've been important additional information. Bloopityboop (talk) 07:41, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting. The topic is marginal (and debated by scientists), so it may not merit a whole section to itself. Still, a mention seems sensible. It was probably deleted because it confusingly began "Many species exhibit megacephaly. Megacephaly is a condition in which an individual has a much larger and broader head, more expansive alveolar surfaces, and hypertrophied jaws muscles..." which makes it sound as if it's the normal state in many turtles (which it might be, but that's the contentious bit). I suggest we have a sentence or perhaps two in the 'Head and neck' section, summarizing what it is, and stating that it may be a disease condition or possibly just a reaction to a tough diet. Chiswick Chap (talk) 08:24, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for contributing! That sounds reasonable, and admittedly I could've worded it better. By the way, can you say where you read that it might be a disease condition? I was not aware that this was ever considered. Bloopityboop (talk) 09:23, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Just glanced at one of your refs. If it certainly isn't such a thing then I wonder if we need to even mention it. Chiswick Chap (talk) 10:54, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think its worth mentioning, because its a developmental condition that is unique to turtles that significantly affects anatomy and ecology, recorded across numerous major turtle clades, and isn't really a rare occurrence in nature. Bloopityboop (talk) 01:10, 13 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Why not add it to the articles on the specific species where this happens then? LittleJerry (talk) 16:57, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Because there are simply too many species that can display megacephaly for that to be a reasonable solution. Megacephaly is recorded in at least 8 entire families of turtles (and since many of these 8 families aren't even closely related, i suspect the actual number is even higher). As such, it makes significantly more sense to mention it here instead. Bloopityboop (talk) 01:03, 13 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Summarize it in one ot two sentences and add them to the end of the first paragraph. LittleJerry (talk) 02:03, 13 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

What I wrote was intended to be a summary. If you feel it should be further abbreviated, would you be willing to show how it should be done? Or perhaps, discuss what parts you feel are not necessary to mention? Bloopityboop (talk) 02:23, 13 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

While I feel that important information was left out after having condensed it into two short sentences, I'm perhaps not an objective judge. Oh well, thanks for being willing to compromise. Bloopityboop (talk) 20:06, 13 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Done. LittleJerry (talk) 21:01, 13 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]