| Why I Love Turtles! | Some Turtle Species | Fun Facts About Turtles |
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‘Turtle’ is the umbrella term for all 200 types of turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. Tortoises have more rounded and domed shells where turtles have thinner, more water-dynamic shells. Turtle shells are more streamlined to aid in swimming. One major key difference is that tortoises spend most of their time on land and turtles are adapted for life spent in water. Tortoises live on land and have feet like a little elephant. Tortoises can’t swim and are popular pets.
">Sea turtles have roamed the oceans for the last 100 million years. They even survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs after the meteor hit. The turtles themselves split off from their reptilian ancestors at least 260 million years ago (Permian). The first fully marine turtles emerged during the Cretaceous Period, a span of time lasting between 145 and 66 million years ago. By 120 million years ago, they resembled the sea turtles we are familiar with today.
Aquatic turtles will commonly live 20-30 years in captivity, but many can live much longer. Tortoises are more well-known for their longevity—with some estimated to live 100 to 150 years.
They use their beak-like mouth to grasp their food. This beak is made of keratin. With their strong jaw muscles and hard beaks, carnivorous turtles crush the shells of their prey. Baby turtles have something called an eggtooth, or aruncle, but it's not really a tooth.
When eating, they ingest a large amount of salty seawater. To get rid of this excess salt, sea turtles have large glands by their eyes that release salt in higher concentrations than the surrounding ocean water. The liquid secreted gives the appearance of tears, hence why turtles are often reported to “cry” .
