Tortoise Glossary Terms
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Glossary Terms: I
Ibera:
Spur Thigh tortoise.
Identification (ID):
A series of characteristics (physical and behavioural) that enables recognition of a tortoise as a member of a particular species or sub-species.
Impaction:
A condition where a looped intestine or a plug of some foreign matter makes the animal unable to pass waste material through the intestine to the outside. Potentially a fatal condition. It is more common in smaller animals that are kept on a substrate of sand and caused by accidental ingestion of the substrate.
Impressed tortoise:
Manouria impressa.
Incubation:
Term used to denote the artificial hatching of eggs through mechanical means.
Incubation period:
Period from time of laying of egg, during which the embryo completes its development. The developmental phase of an egg prior to hatching, which requires warmth.
Incubator:
A device used to incubate eggs.
Indian star tortoise:
Geochelone elegens tortoise.
Indigenous:
Originating in and naturally living, growing, or occurring in a region or country.
Indotestudo elongata:
Elongated tortoise.
Indotestudo forstenii:
Forstens tortoise.
Indotestudo travancorica:
Travancore tortoise.
Infrared:
Invisible heat rays beyond the visible light spectrum.
Inherited:
Information which is passed from parents to offspring through genes in sperm and egg cells.
Intergular:
In between the two gular scutes.
Insectivore:
Eats insects only.
International Species Information System (ISIS):
Tracks taxonomic and breeding information of all species, used extensively in zoos.
Intestine:
The lower part of the alimentary tract which terminates at the cloaca.
Introduced:
A species not native to a region but which now occur there as a result of artificial transport or escapes from captivity.
Introflexed:
Turned inwards.
Iranian spur-thighed tortoise:
Testudo graeca zarudnyi.