Talk:Turtle/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Vaticidalprophet (talk · contribs) 08:48, 2 July 2021 (UTC)

This is a wonderful core article -- informative, approachable, and comprehensive. My first notes:

1. The intelligence section is focused on encephalization quotient, rather than more modern measures of animal intelligence such as cortical neuron density. Are there studies using these better methods to provide a more high-quality analysis of the topic?

The encephalization quotient is only briefly mentioned. Most of the section is on turtle intelligence tests. LittleJerry (talk) 19:16, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

1. Under Lifespan, "they senesce very slowly" is somewhat unapproachable compared to the tone the article is mostly written in. The concept of negligible senescence should be introduced before using 'senesce' rather than 'age'. Some definition of what the survival rate is (by year?) would also make the article friendlier to a broad audience.

Done. LittleJerry (talk) 00:16, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

1. The current description of tortoiseshell risks leaving readers with the impression all tortoiseshell-patterned items are made of tortoiseshell itself, when to my understanding most are plastic thse days; it may be worth clarifying. (Though it's a bit distant, I'm also surprised there's no mention of tortoiseshell cats, perhaps under "In culture" discussing the significance of the colour scheme that led to the popularity of tortoiseshell items in the first place.)

Vaticidalprophet 08:48, 2 July 2021 (UTC)

Added mention of imitations, with refs. Chiswick Chap (talk) 13:21, 4 July 2021 (UTC)

First prose comments

As noted, this is a strong article; accordingly, most of my comments are on prose rather than content. Splitting this up into chunks due to the article's length.

1. It is not known how they navigate though they do have a magnetic sense. This may flow better with a comma after 'navigate', though may be personal style.

• Done.

1. Marine turtles are often killed accidentally as bycatch in fishing nets. Does bycatch want a link?

• Linked.

1. The carapace is fused with the vertebrae and ribs while the plastron is formed from bones of the shoulder girdle, sternum, and dermal bones, gastralia. I had to read this twice and follow the link to catch that "dermal bones" and "gastralia" referred to the same thing. "gastralia (dermal bones)" strikes me as a better presentation than "dermal bones, gastralia".

• Not keen on parentheses, but done.

1. The limbs of turtles are adapted for various means of locomotion and habits and most have five toes. A longer sentence without commas -- I'd be inclined, though it might again be style, to place one after "habits".

• Edited.

1. Turtles share the linked circulatory and pulmonary systems of vertebrates, in which the heart pumps deoxygenated blood through the lungs, and then pumps the returned oxygenated blood through the body's tissues, but the turtle cardiopulmonary system has both structural and physiological adaptations that distinguish it from other vertebrates. This is a long sentence handling a few different clauses. I'm a long sentence fan myself, but as this is the first sentence in this section for a fairly high-level core article, I think splitting it up would make the matter more accessible to a broader swathe of readers.

• Done.

Vaticidalprophet 06:37, 7 July 2021 (UTC)

Continued

All changes looking good. A few more sections, and my apologies for spotty replying.

1. Most turtle species are opportunistic omnivores; landing-dwelling species being more herbivorous and aquatic ones being more carnivorous -- "landing" intended to be "land"?

• Fixed.

1. Aqautic turtles mount in water which is easier for both sexes; seems to be a sentence/sentence fragment that forgot where it was heading, considering the next sentence/fragment starts with a capital letter and is written as a separate sentence, despite this one ending with a semicolon. The sentence/s in question probably want to be reworked in some direction; I'll permit you to decide what you think flows best. Tangentially, I personally think a comma after 'water' would also make this fragment feel less abrupt.

• Fixed.

1. although some lay eggs close to or in shallow water whose levels rise and fall -- can water take "whose"? I think this is similarly best reworked somewhat; something like "shallow water where the tides rise and fall" or "where the water level rises and falls".

• Fixed.

1. The common snapping turtle walks 5 km (3.1 mi) on land to lay eggs, while sea turtles travel even further; the leatherback swims some 12,000 km (7,500 mi) to its nesting beaches.[79][16] Ref order (keep an eye on these broadly).

• Fixed.

1. the Black Mountain Turtle Layer in Wyoming) -- closing bracket without an opening one.

• Fixed.

Vaticidalprophet 12:15, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

I don't see any other significant issues, so I'm happy to pass this. Vaticidalprophet 13:59, 12 July 2021 (UTC)

Thank you very much. Chiswick Chap (talk) 16:00, 12 July 2021 (UTC)