The Turtle that Looks like a Torture Device! O_O

This odd turtle is called the St. Catherine’s wheel turtle (Heosemys spinosus), also known as the cogs-wheel turtle and the spiny turtle. The adult turtles don’t have the spines. (NO!) Why is it called a St. Catherine’s wheel turtle?

KINGDOM OF CREATURES STORY TIME!!

St. Catherine of Alexandria (282 – 305 AD) lived in Alexandria, Egypt. One of her acquaintences was the emperor of Rome, Maxentius, who was persecuting Catholics. She told him to stop at once, and you know what? He sentenced her to be tied to a wheel with knives on it, and have the wheel spun so she got cut up. It was a very sad death that she did not deserve at all, but thankfully she is a saint. Her feast day is November 25.

Her wheel looks kind of like this similar torture device at a museum:

Maxentius = Biggest jerk in history besides King Henry VIII.

Anyway, this turtle is an Asian species, ranging in Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

There have been three successful captive incubations of the St. Catherine’s wheel turtle’s eggs, taking up to 145 days to hatch. These bizarrely cute turtles are completely herbivorous in nature, though many captive species eat meat.