The evolution of character Turtle
From left to right:
shell bone, big seal, small seal, clerical scripts, and simplified song typeface.
Back view of turtle (left) Side view of turtle(right)
The character Turtle – 龜 is pronounced Gui1
Explanation
Shell bone scripts of character Turtle: The back view of turtle (the left top): the top is head, the middle is body, and there are 4 legs. The side view of turtle (the left bottom): the top is head: the top is bird head, the bottom is body, the left are two legs, and the right is the shell.
Big seal script of character Turtle (middle left): Similar to side view of turtle: the top is head, the right is shell, the left are legs, the center is body, and the bottom is the tail.
Small seal script of character Turtle: Similar to its big seal script of character.
Clerical script of character Turtle: Similar to older scripts, except the center is empty T, which is the body, more like the real turtle.
Simplified song typeface of Turtle (the left bottom): Similar to back view shell bone script: the top is the head, the middle 田 is the body, the long curve from the middle top to the right bottom is the tail. The 4 legs are eliminated. It is a very good simplification because the back view turtle is easier to draw or to write.