Turtles

Turtles are reptilian animals that are very slow-moving and do not really pose a threat to anyone or anything - not even lettuce. They are distinguished from other reptiles by a shell that grows from their ribcage and extends over their back to act as a shield against predators. This is advantageous, since most turtles are not really adept at defending themselves.

A notable species of turtle is the sea turtle or marine turtle, which are amphibious and are distinguished from other turtles because they have flippers rather than feet. Four species of sea turtles are on the endangered species list and are often vulnerable to various dangers such as being chopped up or injured from prop motors on boats. Classically, there are seven different species of sea turtle, but it could be argued that there is also a more elusive eighth species, which are known to speak and have developed a Southern California surfer dialect. Like humans, turtles are also subject to dramatic physiological alterations and increased intellect as a result of chemical mutation. In at least one notable instance, a mysterious "ooze", increased the size, speed and mental prowess of four common turtles. As they grew into teenagers, they developed certain martial arts skills and donned masks to defend the city as a team of ninjas.

We speak of course of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who were the brainchild creations of comic book writers Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird back in the halcyon days of 1984. The group were first seen in their own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series, which was published by Mirage Studios and ran from 1984 to 2010.

The Ninja Turtles were once four regular turtles that inhabited the sewers of New York City. They were exposed to a mysterious chemical that mutated them, increasing their intellectual capacity, altering their developmental cycle and causing drastic changes to their physiology. A sewer rat, also exposed to these chemicals, was mutated as well. As the rat, Splinter, was already older and wiser, he took the four turtle "brothers" under his wing and raised them as his own children. He named them after famous artists from the Renaissance era: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael.

Splinter taught these mutant turtles the art of Ninjitsu and set them on a righteous path to confront and defeat the evils of the city, while maintaining their secrecy and isolation beneath the sewers. As these turtles became teenagers, they adopted many behavioral characteristics common to human teenagers such as trendy terms and phrases, an appreciation for extreme sports, and an unabashed love for pizza.