Tortoiseshell

Tortoiseshell or tortoise shell is a material produced from the shells of the larger species of tortoise and turtle, mainly the hawksbill sea turtle, which is an endangered species largely because of its exploitation for the material. The large size, fine colour and unusual form of the hawksbill's scutes make it especially suitable. The distinctive patterning is referred to in names such as the tortoiseshell cat, several breeds of guinea pig, and the common names of several species of the butterfly geni Nymphalis and Aglais, and some other uses.

Uses

Tortoiseshell was widely used from ancient times in the West and in Asia, until the trade was finally banned in the 1970s. It was used, normally in thin slices or pieces, in the manufacture of a wide variety of items such as combs, small boxes and frames and inlays in furniture and other items, frames for spectacles, guitar picks and knitting needles. Despite being expensive, tortoiseshell was attractive to manufacturers and consumers because of its beautiful mottled appearance, its durability, and its organic warmth against the skin.

Tortoiseshell (disambiguation)

Tortoiseshell can refer to:

See also

Tortoiseshell cat

Tortoiseshell describes a cat coat colouring found almost exclusively in females, so-called because of the similarity to tortoiseshell material. Male tortoiseshells appear only rarely, and those that do are commonly sterile.

Also called torties for short, tortoiseshell cats combine two colours other than white, either closely mixed or in larger patches. The colours are often described as red and black, but the "red" patches can instead be orange, yellow, or cream, and the "black" can instead be chocolate, grey, tabby, or blue. Tortoiseshell cats with the tabby pattern as one of their colours are sometimes referred to as a torbie.

"Tortoiseshell" is typically reserved for particoloured cats with relatively small or no white markings. Those that are largely white, with tortoiseshell patches, are described as tricolour, as tortoiseshell-and-white (in the United Kingdom), or as calico (in Canada and the United States).

Tortoiseshell markings appear in many different breeds, as well as in non-purebred domestic cats. This pattern is especially preferred in the Japanese Bobtail breed, and exists in the Cornish Rex group.