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box turtle
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box turtle box turtle Drawing of an eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina). Diagram comparing the forelimb bone structures of a human, horse, dolphin, box turtle, fruit bat, and chicken, with color-coded bones showing homologous parts to illustrate evolutionary relationships.
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box turtle
box turtle Box turtle (Terrapene carolina)

box turtle

reptile
Written by
George R. Zug
Curator Emeritus, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
George R. Zug
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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box turtle, any of two groups, Asian and North American, of terrestrial and semiaquatic turtles. Box turtles have a high, rounded upper shell (carapace), a flattened bottom shell (plastron) with a transverse hinge, and ligamentous connections (instead of the bony bridge typical of most turtles) between plastron and carapace. Their common name is presumably derived from their ability to draw their head and limbs completely within the shell and close themselves up like a box....

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