Authenticated (17/12/07) by Dr. Gerald Kuchling, Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia.
Glossary
Melanism: opposite of albinism: the tendency of an organism to be a dramatically darker colour than normal due to an increased amount of brown to black pigmentation in the skin, feathers or hair of the individual.
Omnivore: an organism that feeds on both plants and animals.
Scute: One of the large keratinous scales on the carapace (the top shell of a turtle or tortoise).