Let's learn more about turtles!
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Like other reptiles, turtles are cold-blooded. This means that their body temperature changes based on how warm or cold it is outside. They live in many different habitats across the world, including coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps.
Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked turtles), which differ in the way the head retracts. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling tortoises and freshwater terrapins. They are found on most continents, some islands and, in the case of sea turtles, much of the ocean. Like other amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals) they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water.
Discover the
Study of turtles
Turtle shells are made mostly of bone; the upper part is the domed carapace, while the underside is the flatter plastron or belly-plate. Its outer surface is covered in scales made of keratin, the material of hair, horns, and claws. The carapace bones develop from ribs that grow sideways and develop into broad flat plates that join up to cover the body. Turtles are ectotherms or "cold-blooded", meaning that their internal temperature varies with their direct environment. They are generally opportunistic omnivores and mainly feed on plants and animals with limited movements. Many turtles migrate short distances seasonally. Sea turtles are the only reptiles that migrate long distances to lay their eggs on a favored beach.
Turtles have appeared in myths and folktales around the world. Some terrestrial and freshwater species are widely kept as pets. Turtles have been hunted for their meat, for use in traditional medicine, and for their shells. Sea turtles are often killed accidentally as bycatch in fishing nets. Turtle habitats around the world are being destroyed. As a result of these pressures, many species are extinct or threatened with extinction.
Did you know that
Turtles don’t have teeth
A turtle uses its beak-like mouth to grasp food. This beak is made of keratin, the same stuff your fingernails are made of. Hatchlings are often omnivores, so they eat animals and plants. Green turtles are vegetarian and prefer sea grasses, sea weeds, and algae. Most other turtles snack on fish, molluscs, and squids. Leatherbacks love eating jellyfish on their long sea voyages.
THEY WEAR THEIR BONES ON THE OUTSIDE
A turtle shell is not a single piece but made of over 50 bones fused together. They wear most of their bones on the outside! The top part of the shell is called the carapace and the underside is a plastron. Both sides are joined by a bridge. All marine and aquatic turtle bones are spongy and light, to help them float.
THEY ALL COME IN DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES
The Kemp’s ridley is around 70 cm long and weighs up to 40 kilos, making it the smallest turtle. It appears tiny when compared to the leatherback, which can reach up to 180 cm and weighs 250 – 700 kilos. Amazingly, Wales holds the world record for the largest marine turtle ever found: In 1988 a leatherback turtle came ashore measuring 2.5 metres and weighing over 900 kilos!
Turtles don’t live as long as tortoises
Sea turtles live to about 50 years old, while their freshwater cousins reach 30 – 40 years. Tortoises are the kings of old age and can live to over 100 years! The world's oldest tortoise, according to Guinness World Records, is Tu'i Malila, who lived until the age of 189. Bear this in mind if you want to keep a tortoise or turtle pet! Will your great grandchildren want them just as much as you do?
Turtles in culture
Turtles have featured in human cultures across the world since ancient times. They are generally viewed positively despite not being "cuddly" or flashy; their association with the ancient times and old age have contributed to their endearing image.
In Hindu mythology, the World Turtle, named Kurma or Kacchapa, supports four elephants on his back; they, in turn, carry the weight of the whole world on their backs. The turtle is one of the ten avatars or incarnations of the god Vishnu. The yoga pose Kurmasana is named for the avatar. World Turtles are found in Native American cultures including the Algonquian, Iroquois, and Lenape. They tell many versions of the creation story of Turtle Island. One version has Muskrat pile up earth on Turtle's back, creating the continent of North America. An Iroquois version has the pregnant Sky Woman fall through a hole in the sky between a tree's roots, where she is caught by birds who land her safely on Turtle's back; the Earth grows around her. The turtle here is altruistic, but the world is a heavy burden, and the turtle sometimes shakes itself to relieve the load, causing earthquakes.
A turtle was the symbol of the Ancient Mesopotamian god Enki from the 3rd millennium BCE onward. An ancient Greek origin myth told that only the tortoise refused the invitation of the gods Zeus and Hera to their wedding, as it preferred to stay at home. Zeus then ordered it to carry its house with it, ever after. Another of their gods, Hermes, invented a seven-stringed lyre made with the shell of a tortoise. In the Shang dynasty Chinese practice of plastromancy, dating back to 1200 BCE, oracles were obtained by inscribing questions on turtle plastrons using the oldest known form of Chinese characters, burning the plastron, and interpreting the resulting cracks. Later, the turtle was one of the four sacred animals in Confucianism, while in the Han period, steles were mounted on top of stone turtles, later linked with Bixi, the turtle-shelled son of the Dragon King. Marine turtles feature significantly in Australian Aboriginal art. The army of Ancient Rome used the testudo ("tortoise") formation where soldiers would form a shield wall for protection.
In Aesop's Fables, "The Tortoise and the Hare" tells how an unequal race may be won by the slower partner. Lewis Carroll's 1865 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland features a Mock Turtle, named for a soup meant to imitate the expensive soup made from real turtle meat. In 1896, the French playwright Léon Gandillot wrote a comedy in three acts named La Tortue that was "a Parisian sensation" in its run in France, and came to the Manhattan Theatre, Broadway, New York, in 1898 as The Turtle. A "cosmic turtle" and the island motif reappear in Gary Snyder's 1974 novel Turtle Island, and again in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series as Great A'Tuin, starting with the 1983 novel The Colour of Magic. It is supposedly of the species Chelys galactica, the galactic turtle, complete with four elephants on its back to support Discworld.[184] A giant fire-breathing turtle called Gamera is the star of a series of Japanese monster movies in the kaiju genre and has had twelve films from 1965 to 2006.Turtles have been featured in comic books and animations such as the 1984 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Turtles have
Culinary and medicinal properties
The flesh of captured wild turtles continues to be eaten in Asian cultures, while turtle soup was once a popular dish in English cuisine. Gopher tortoise stew has been popular with some groups in Florida.
The supposed aphrodisiac or medicinal properties of turtle eggs created a large trade for them in Southeast Asia. Hard-shell turtle plastrons and soft-shell carapaces are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine; Taiwan imported nearly 200 metric tons of hard-shells from its neighbors yearly from 1999 to 2008. A popular medicinal preparation based on herbs and turtle shells is guilinggao jelly.
The substance tortoiseshell, usually from the hawksbill turtle, has been used for centuries to make jewelry, tools, and ornaments around the Western Pacific. Hawksbills have accordingly been hunted for their shells. The trading of tortoiseshell was internationally banned in 1977 by CITES. Some cultures have used turtle shells to make music: Native American shamans made them into ceremonial rattles, while Aztecs, Mayas, and Mixtecs made ayotl drums.
