The Bottom Line: Fun facts about turtles!
The Full Story:
- Turtles are reptiles.
- Yes, turtles and tortoises are different. They’re all reptiles and they all have shells but the basic difference between them is turtles live in water, tortoises live on land and terrapins are a bit of both, but there's more to it than that.
- Turtles have a hard shell that protects them like a shield, this upper shell is called a carapace.
- Turtles also have a lower shell called a plastron.
- Many turtle species (not all) can hide their heads inside their shells when attacked by predators.
- Turtles have existed for around 215-million years.
- Like other reptiles, turtles are cold blooded.
- The largest turtle is the leatherback sea turtle, it can weigh over 2000-poundsTurtles lay eggs.
- In some species of turtle the temperature determines if the egg will develop into a male or female, lower temperatures lead to a male while higher temperatures lead to a female.
- Some turtles lay eggs in the sand and leave them to hatch on their own. The young turtles make their way to the top of the sand and scramble to the water while trying to avoid predators.
- Sea turtles have special glands, which help remove salt from the water they drink.
- Many turtle species are endangered.