tortoiseshell

1. 1. The mottled, horny, translucent, brownish covering of the carapace of certain tortoises or turtles, especially the hawksbill, used to make combs, jewelry, and other articles.
   2. A synthetic imitation of natural tortoiseshell.
2. See hawksbill.
3. A domestic cat having fur with brown, black, and yellowish markings.
4. Any of several butterflies, chiefly of the genus Nymphalis, having wings with orange, black, and brown markings.

A coat color in cats consisting of a mixture of black and shades of red to yellow, usually broken into large patches. The color can be found in a variety of cats, both long- and shorthaired, and specific breeds, such as Burmese. Tortoiseshell-and-white is another variety, called calico in the USA and chintz in the United Kingdom. Because the genes for black and orange (including shades from red to yellow) are carried on an X chromosome, but not the same one, only females can carry both colors. Males from similar breeding are either orange or black. There are isolated examples of tortoiseshell or tortoiseshell-and-white male cats, but almost all are sterile due to the chromosomal abnormality of XXY. These are considered models of the human condition, klinefelter's syndrome. Rarely, the phenomenon may be attributed to somatic mutations, crossing over of chromosomes or mosaicism.

Tortoiseshell can refer to:

• tortoiseshell material, made primarily from the shell of the Hawksbill turtle
• a Tortoiseshell cat
• a pattern used in clothing and jewellery
• the Small Tortoiseshell, a European butterfly
• the California Tortoiseshell, a North American butterfly
• "Tortoiseshell", a song by The Boo Radleys which appeared on their EP Every Heaven

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - skildpaddeskjold

Nederlands (Dutch)
schildpaddak, vlinder (bruinoranje), geelbruine kat

Français (French)
n. - écaille, vanesse, chatte écaille de tortue

Deutsch (German)
n. - Schildpatt, Katze mit Schildpattzeichnung, Fuchs (Schmetterling)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κέλυφος χελώνας (κν. ταρταρούγα)
adj. - από ταρταρούγα

Italiano (Italian)
guscio di tartaruga, di tartaruga

Português (Portuguese)
n. - casco de tartaruga (m)
adj. - de tartaruga

Русский (Russian)
черепаший панцирь, сделанный из черепашьего панциря, уподобленный черепашьему панцирю, цвет

Español (Spanish)
n. - carey, concha, de carey o concha, de color carey

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sköldpaddskal, sköldpadd
adj. - sköldpadd-

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
龟甲, 鳖甲, 仿玳瑁

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 龜甲, 鱉甲, 仿玳瑁

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 귀갑, 별갑, 삼색 얼룩 고양이

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 鼈甲, ヒオドシチョウ
adj. - 鼈甲製の, 鼈甲に似た色模様の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) صدفه السلحفاة (صفه) مصنوع من صدف السلحفاة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שריון-צב‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.