1) Chelodina rugosa, the northern long-necked turtle of Australia lays its eggs under water. The eggs remain dormant in the nest until the waters recede and then development begins.

2) Barbour's map turtles (Graptemys barbouri) are dimorphic in size. The large adult females live in deep sections of rivers and feed on fresh water clams. The males live in shallow riffle areas of the river where they feed on caddisfly larvae and other small aquatic insects.

3) The highest diversity of turtles is in the South Eastern United States and in South East Asia. If one were to divide up the world into ten degree by ten degree latitude and longitude blocks, there 30 to 40 species of turtles living in the blocks representing these two areas. Densities this high occur on less than 1% of the earth's surface. Over 85% of the earth has fewer than 10 species and 44% has none.

4) The eggs of the giant snake-necked turtle (Chelodina expansa) stop developing when the nest temperatures drop below a certain level and then resume when the temperatures rise. Because of this incubation normally takes 12 months.

5) The Jamaican slider (Trachemys terrapen) is probably native to the Bahamas and was introduced to Jamaica by pre-Columbian man. This same species has also been introduced into Java in SE Asia.

6) Female Asian forest tortoises (Manouria emys) construct large mound nest of vegetation and guards the nest and eggs through the early phases of embryonic development.

7) Leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea) are the largest of living chelonians. The biggest leatherback on record is a male found dead on a beach in Gwynedd, Wales on 23 September 1988. It measured 9 ft. 5 1/2 inches over the carapace, nine feet across the flippers, and weighed 2,120 lb.