| Let's get our first fun fact cleared up right at the | | | | are downright 'soft' earning some turtles the name |
| beginning - turtles are reptiles, not amphibians. Sure | | | | 'leatherback.' (The leatherback sea turtle, by the way, |
| they're equally happy in both land and water - except | | | | grows to be one of the largest turtles in existence at |
| for tortoises that will drown if put in deep water - | | | | around two meters long.) |
| but this does not make them amphibians. In fact, | | | | Another little known fact about turtles is their |
| turtles are pretty unique as reptiles as the only ones | | | | well-developed sense of sight and smell. This, second |
| to actually grow an external shell made of bone! | | | | to their shells, is their greatest defense against |
| And it seems all that calcium goes right into that shell | | | | predators. If they can see or smell an attack far |
| because turtles don't have teeth. They've got a | | | | away enough they can drag themselves into safety |
| pretty sharp beak that will take your finger right off | | | | under mud, water or a large rock before the |
| if you're not fast enough but then, you are faster | | | | predator gets close enough to do some real damage. |
| than a turtle right? | | | | The pancake tortoise, for instance, has a soft-shell |
| All living turtles belong to the crown group Chelonia | | | | but this helps it much more than a hard shell would |
| and there about 300 species existing today, although | | | | by allowing it to squeeze into rock crevices to |
| a fair few are on the endangered list. Turtles are local | | | | escape attack. |
| to every continent, except Antarctica, and every | | | | All turtles and tortoises breathe water and although |
| ocean, except the Arctic. Wondering why they don't | | | | they can go for extended periods of time |
| live in the coldest regions? You guessed it! As | | | | underwater eventually they all must resurface. |
| reptiles, turtles are cold-blooded and hence cannot | | | | This includes the Australian freshwater turtle which |
| generate their own body heat. | | | | has a most fascinating feature near its cloacal cavity. |
| But literally everywhere else you look you're likely to | | | | These are the blood-rich papillae that are able to |
| find turtles and this is probably because they're one | | | | absorb dissolved oxygen straight from water, similarly |
| of the oldest living species of reptile, having been | | | | to fish gills, allowing it to stay underwater much |
| around for about 215 million years. | | | | longer than many of its counterparts. |
| The turtle's shell is called its 'exoskeleton' which | | | | Turtles are extremely fascinating creatures and the |
| basically means the 'outer skeleton' made of bone. | | | | more information you find out about them, the more |
| The turtle exoskeleton, or shell, grows out from its | | | | you want to know. Keeping one as a pet entails |
| ribs to fuse with the backbone and is formed of | | | | knowing a lot more than you would need to know |
| large plates called scutes. | | | | about other animals but it is definitely well worth the |
| The upper part of the shell is called the carapace and | | | | effort. |
| the lower part is called the plastron. This lower belly is | | | | Look up turtles and turtle facts online, in books, at |
| how you tell the males and females apart. | | | | pet-shops - find out everything you can before |
| In males, the plastron is concave while in the females | | | | getting one as a pet but do get one if you've been |
| it is flat. Not all turtle shells are hard. In fact, some | | | | thinking about it. They make great pets! |