Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. This one-ton turtle once ruled South America’s rivers — ...

Cartoons often suggest turtles wear shells like removable armor. Those stories show turtles stepping out, swapping shells, or treating them like clothing. Biology disagrees. A turtle shell is not an ...

Every winter, northern map turtles cluster together to hibernate in the water beneath a frozen lake. Then one year, their resting grounds became a scene of violence.