no secret that the turtle is one of the oldest members of our fauna, as it has managed to preserve its original appearance as it was 200 million years ago.Her body is protected by armor.The upper part of the turtle is smooth, dark olive or brown, with small yellow spots.Toes connected swimming membranes.The main feature of the marsh turtle in that it has a long tail, necessary for navigation.
eared turtle lives in Southern and Central Europe, as well as in parts of Asia and North Africa.
main habitat of marsh turtles are swamps, they also like oxbow rivers or quiet river backwaters.Lately, a fact that bog turtle gradually master the artificial reservoirs, namely, channels and ponds.It is no secret that the turtles prefer solitude, but sometimes they settle in those places that are frequented by people.
As a rule, European pond turtle chooses its habitat areas of water bodies that have sloping bank or bumps.Thanks to them, they can get out of the water to hunt or just to warm up.Eared turtle compared to the tortoise, move faster, and if you notice any danger, then immediately dives into the water, can also burrow into the mud or hide in the water vegetation.Therefore find these animals is problematic.Of course, you can watch them when very quietly sneak up to their place of dwelling.
Previously, it was thought that the bog turtle is primarily nocturnal, but in the daytime she just basking in the sun.However, observations and studies have found that at night she likes to sleep on the bottom of a river or pond, and in the afternoon she was awake, hunting both on land and on water.
eared turtle is great swim, dive, and for a long time can remain under water.When it comes to active movement, it is necessary every twenty minutes to climb to the surface and swallow air.At the pond turtle is one very important tool needed for living in the water, namely additional inhalation, which include anal bubbles and blood capillary outgrowths of the pharynx.And thanks to the complex structure of the lung it has the ability to use oxygen even in the event of poor ventilation.
eared turtle feeds on both land animals and water.Furthermore, in its diet can include a variety of plants.With regard to the water surface, and there she catches a variety of invertebrates, such as crustaceans, insects, molluscs, and newts, small frogs can eat a wounded fish.
Ashore bog turtle hunts different bugs, worms, woodlice and shellfish.She is not averse to eat algae and coastal plants.In the process of hunting an animal plays a major role not only vision, but also the sense of smell.
After the autumn-winter period turtle is ready to breed.As a rule, the turtle reaches sexual maturity only in the sixth to eighth year of life.After bog turtle is characterized by longevity, she lives an average of seventy to one hundred and twenty years.Mating can be done both on the water and on land.The female lays her eggs in a hole and buries her feet.Eggs are similar to birds, also consist of calcareous shell.For the development of eggs need a couple of months.Small turtles hatched, dig their own burrows and stay there even before the arrival of the next spring.Throughout this period they may exist due stocked nutrients which are located in the yolk sac at the abdomen.
