What can one say about turtles? They are reptiles who evolved to have a bony or cartilaginous shell from their ribs. This form of protection proved effective, allowing turtles to have existed for over 200 million years! A detailed account of their early history is difficult to piece together, but wikipedia provides a good overview. Suffice it to say that Turtles have been around since the Triassic, evolving a wide diversity - from the huge Archelon and Letherback, to the Box, Galapagos, Snapping, and Sea Turtle! Come and see some of this diversity below at the Turtle Gallery!
If you want to participate in any of our Galleries, send your artwork to artevolved@gmail.com and we will post it alongside the wonderful pieces here within!
Turtle Power! WIP by Patricia Arnold
The Turtle
a sonnet by Albertonykus
A place as harsh as any one could find,
In spite of shining lakes and autumn trees;
The winter could bite you in your behind
Once the ginkgoes dispense with all their leaves.
At night the ‘raptors wake and stalk the wood
In the dark they seek prey to dismember;
To a tyrannosauroid you’d taste good;
Their presence you would want to remember.
Mammals here can be bigger than a cat,
Big enough to kill some defenseless prey,
And lest you scorn those the size of a rat,
Their venomous foot spurs will make you pay.
But inside my hard, sturdy carapace,
I can survive all the dangers I face.
Italian Family by Santino Mazzei
An illustration dedicated to Tethyshadros insularis, the dwarf Italian hadrosaur. In the picture we can see a little turtle walking behind the dinosaurs. A prehistoric version of the "Turtle and Hare" fable: probably Tethyshadros was a fast animal.
Angry Tank by Louis Shackleton
Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)
Ugly Stage 3D Turtle WIP by Craig Dylke
Archelon Above by Peter Bond
Prehistoric Mutant Ninja Turtles! by Peter Bond
Raphael
Proganochelys quenstedti - Late Triassic (210 myo)
Germany and Thailand - first full shell - 1m long
Michelangelo
Odontochelys semitestacea - Late Triassic (220 myo)
Guizhou, China - oldest turtle (incomplete shell) - 40cm long
Leonardo
Placochelys placodonta - Late Triassic (200 myo)
Germany - paddle-like limbs - 90cm long
Donatello
Archelon ischyros - Late Cretaceous (75-65 myo)
South Dakota and Wyoming, USA - HUGE - >4m long!
Cowabunga, dude! Pizza Party!!!
And that brings us to the end of this gallery-in-a-half-shell! Hope you have enjoyed this little gallery of turtles as you head back to school!
The next gallery is Forests and all the amazing critters that live within them! The Forest Gallery opens here at ART Evolved on November 1st - so grab those paints and pixels, paint a modern or prehistoric forest, and send it in to artevolved@gmail.com.