Despite the younger offspring's unwillingness to provide details last week, it would seem that they really were studying turtles. This rendering was made with leaves and other plant matter. Also, I learned from the younger offspring that the "tummy" part of a turtle's shell (not shown) is called the plastron.
Elder offspring made the illustration below. The one making the diary entry is the ant, at the lower right. It is possible (though unconfirmed) that the larger animal is a wombat or a bandicoot. Update: The furry animal is a rabbit.
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The turtle's shell provides it with a formidable defence and one that is unique in the animal world. No other animal has a structure quite like it, and the bizarre nature of the turtle's anatomy also applies to the skeleton and muscles lying inside its bony armour.
The shell itself is made from…
The younger Free-Ride offspring's kindergarten class has been discussing rabbits for the last week or so. I can only hope the high school kids have been discussing the molecular structure of theobromine (the main alkaloid in chocolate) and working out the phase of matter of the interior of Peeps…
The Matamata is an incredible animal. A morphologically bizarre, highly cryptic, aquatic South American turtle, it's equipped with a super-specialised wide, flattened skull and a host of peculiar features that allow it to engulf fish and other prey in deft acts of rapid suction.
Surprisingly…
In my post bashing that silly article claiming to have figured out how endoskeletons evolved from exoskeletons, there was a good question buried in the comments, and I thought I'd answer it.
Are there any models pulled out of arses which explain the turtle's unique skeleton?
Yes! I mean, no, not…
Both of these artworks are beautiful! You have a budding Andy Goldsworthy on top for sure, and there's something very Quentin Blake about the bottom one.