Shell Shape Helps Tortoises Get Up

A tortoise's shell shape can help determine how quickly it can turn right side up after falling on its back. (Credit: YouTube/Bio Insider) It’s tough being an adult giant tortoise in the Galapagos Islands—they’re always one step away from flipping upside down. Whether it’s from a fight for male dominance or treading over a jagged field of lava rocks, being unable to get back up is among the most common ways these giant tortoises can die. There is no Life Alert button to press for help. Instead, these animals must rely on their ability to flip over and keep on living. Luckily, many Galapagos tortoises are successful at doing so. It’s referred to as “self-righting,” and is the focus of a new study published Thursday in Nature Scientific Reports. Ylenia Chiari, an evolutionary biologist at the University of South Alabama, led a group of scientists that tested several tortoise shell ...