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February 17, 2015 by tomdalzell

Testudines and the order Crocodilia

 

DSCN0416

1156 Oxford

Turtles and tortoises and terrapins are all testudines.

Alligators and crocodiles and caimans are members of the crocodilian species.

The confusing difference/distinction is pretty much what they have in common, the testudines and the crocodilia order.

We have enough in our front yards – barely – to make a post.

1412 Spruce

1412 Spruce

2762 Dohr

2762 Dohr

2721 Shattuck

2721 Shattuck

Mosswood Lane

Mosswood Lane

2341 Roosevelt

2341 Roosevelt

855 The Alameda

855 The Alameda (terrible photo!)

1912 Yolo

1912 Yolo

1231 Channing

1231 Channing

2526 Webster

2526 Webster

2526 Webster

2526 Webster

2526 Webster

2526 Webster

And the anthropomorphic surfing turtle from around the corner from Mark Olivier’s beach trash art house on Colusa:

1786 Sonoma.  Photo: Colleen Neff (2011)

Photo: Colleen Neff (2011)

It turns out that this is a Mark Olivier piece.

1786 Sonoma

1786 Sonoma

Christina told me this story. Olivier first installed the surfing turtle at the Albany Bulb. A storm blasted it. Olivier put it back together and brought it home to Colusa.

Photo: Mark Olivier

Photo: Mark Olivier

Sure enough – here is a photo from Mark Olivier’s website showing the surfing turtle in front of his house.  Christina, an artist herself, loved it and bought it.

Sketch: Urban Sketchers

Sketch: Urban Sketchers

Rose and Josephine

Rose and Josephine

2390 eunice

2390 eunice

2200 Acton

2200 Acton

2019 Carleton

2019 Carleton

1053 Monterey

1053 Monterey

I asked my friend to look through the photos.  After a somewhat deserved somewhat snide remark about the just-barely-quorum satisfying number of photos, he suggested a game.  We each write down the most famous turtle and the most famous alligator in popular culture.  Okay.

Turtle first.  We both went the same way – Aesop.

Scratchboard_Tortoise_And_Hare

And then, alligator / crocodile.  I flirted with the croc in Peter Pan (Mary Martin version) but then went with my gut.  My friend went the same way!

2646256-fourcolor105

It’s a safe bet with the two of us.  If anyone or anything from Pogo is one possible answer, it is the only possible answer.  We agreed to get out some of the old Pogo books and look at them tonight, an assuring ritual.

So, though, we were two for two.  Setting aside the fact that there are only seven photos, what did my friend think of the post?

IMG_3677

Posted in Uncategorized. RSS 2.0 feed.
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One Response to Testudines and the order Crocodilia

  1. Margot says:
    February 12, 2019 at 10:39 pm

    what the actual hell?

    Reply

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