Aldabrachelys abrupta

Plate from the shell of a turtle.

The carapace is the single plate that covers the turtles dorsally. It is made up of bone plates or osteoderms of dermal origin and covered with scales of epidermal origin that give it hardness and rigidity. The plates and scales have a different configuration. The dorsal part of the shell is called the back and the central part, the breastplate or plastron. On the inner side of the back the spine and ribs are fused, which greatly limits movement in these animals. The shell can be smooth, grainy, rough, or have a combination of all of these characteristics. The shell can vary greatly between the various species of turtles.

Aldabrachelys abrupta It is an extinct species of cryptodira turtle.

​Cryptodirans differ from pleurodirans, or lateral-necked turtles, in that they only lower their neck and contract it directly, straight, to hide it within the bone shield, instead of turning the neck and head laterally to hide it within the bone shield.

It was a large species, approximately 115 cm in length, and was originally one of six species of tortoise endemic to Madagascar. It occupied the coast and colder highlands of Madagascar, where it fed on shrubs and low branches.

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