On a recent hike, Jim came upon a box turtle that had just died.  It was still decomposing, so no body parts had been scattered yet by animals.  It was the perfect opportunity for me to learn about the skeletal structure of box turtles.

I knew that crustaceans, like shrimp and lobsters, use there exterior shell (aka exoskeleton) as their skeletal support, but I am embarassed to admit that I never quite understood how turtles were built.  I incorrectly assumed that they shed their shells, like some ocean sea creatures, when they got too small and simply grew another one.  Not so!  It would be impossible for them to do so because they would not be able to walk after doing so as they would no longer have a backbone.

Box turtles do not have a separate backbone.  Their backbone is fused and integrally a part of their box shell (see photo above).  Surprisingly, they do have some bones, like a pelvis and legs, as you can see in the photo to the right.

Life is an adventure!