Turtle Shell
The shell of a turtle is composed of a carapace and a plastron. The carapace is located dorsally, and the plastron is located ventrally. They are connected by a bridge on both sides ( Schoch & Sues., 2020 ). Figure 1: (a) dorsal view of carapace. (b) ventral view of carapace showing nine thoracic vertebrae. (c) stained specimen of the carapace in a young turtle (d) increased magnification of costal plates (Hirasawa et al., 2013) The carapace is made up of bony elements: the neural plates, costal plates, and peripheral plates. The neural plates are in the center line of the carapace, and they are attached to the vertebrae on the underside ( Schoch & Sues., 2020 ). The costal plates surround the neural plates and support the ribs (Schoch & Sues., 2020). The peripheral plates are located surrounding the costal plates. There is also a nuchal which is the anterior portion of the carapace (Figure 1). Figure 2: (a) Dissection of the surface layer of keratinized scutes. ...