Types of Turtles

Turtles are reptile – type animals and can be found in different types of habitat , that is, we can find terrestrial, semi-aquatic and aquatic turtles ; according to the case. A highly distinctive feature that they have is that they tend to move very slowly . In addition, they have a hard shell that serves as protection for these animals.

In addition, in the shell, in the upper part, we find what is called the carapace, while the lower part of it is usually called the plastron. Other physiological characteristics that these animals have as a whole is that they have four legs, they also obviously have a head and a small tail. Its body is protected by the shell.

Turtle classes

Aquatic turtles

This type of turtles have their habitat and move in what they are water, in fact they are found within the water itself, like fish and other aquatic animals. It is for this reason that in the case of the legs, the fingers are usually shaped like membranes, which allows them to move through the water like other aquatic animals, precisely.

Turtles

In this case, turtles of this type have their habitat in the earth’s crust itself, for this reason they tend to move with some ease, although slowly, through the earth itself. Their food is in that area too. Among the main physiological characteristics they have is the fact that their head shows a beak shape on their snout and at the same time, they do not have a dental system; for that reason they feed on herbs and/or some plants. They are usually oviparous animals, for this reason, their reproduction tends to multiply. To protect and incubate the eggs, they usually deposit them in cave species.

Types of turtles

Bulb turtle

These have the scientific name of “Sternotherus Carinatus”, and are regularly found in the United States region. Among the main physical characteristics is the fact that on average they measure 15 centimeters, in addition to the shell, these are black. They are usually aquatic animals although they usually come out on land to reproduce.

Cumberland tortoise

This type of turtle has been coined the scientific name of “Trachemys Scripta Troosti”, which is usually found as a habitat in areas of the United States, particularly in the area of ​​the State of Tennessee. According to the classification that was given, scientists determine that this is a kind of combination of what red-eared sliders are and what yellow sliders are.

The distinguishing factor of this type of turtles is that it can be seen on the back of the shell, colors in the form of scattered black and yellow spots. These measure up to 21 centimeters on average. It is important for them to be in direct contact with sunlight and, depending on the area in which they live, they feed on some algae and small fish.

Star tortoise

These tortoises are regularly found in the part of what is India, in fact that is their habitat from a geographical point of view. Among the particular characteristics, we have that these measure on average about ten centimeters in diameter. From the point of view of life span, compared to others that live up to a hundred years, they only last a few months.

Mediterranean tortoise

This type of turtle is common to find in regions of Europe, especially on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. It is for this simple reason that the colloquial name of Mediterranean turtle was coined. In relation to the size that they usually have, they are in an average range of 16 to 18 centimeters. A distinctive element in relation to the others in the matter of their average life is that they live 100 years.

We can find in this type of turtles a wide variety of what are sub-species, this is so because depending on the particular region in which they live within the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, they show different degrees of body weight. They even differ in size and particular characteristics of the shell on the outside.

A common example of the aforementioned, are what are known as Majorcan and Menorcan tortoises. The former usually measure an average of 13 to 15 centimeters, while the latter, that is, the Menorquinas, measure approximately 15 to 18 centimeters on average. This is so because of the area in which they are found as a habitat.

Spotted turtle

They have as a scientific name “Clemmys Guttata”, they are of the type of semi-aquatic turtle and in relation to their size on average, they reach the measurement of 8 to 12 centimeters. As can be understood, they are small animals to a certain extent compared to other types of turtles. In addition to their size, they are usually distinguished quite easily by the color of their bluish shell.

Pig-nosed turtle

These usually have the scientific name of “Carettochelys insculpta”, and it is common to find it in the regions of Guinea and Australia, particularly. Among the physical characteristics that make it distinguishable is the fact that in its shell, it is very soft to the touch. The shape of the head is even very unusual to look at. Its nose has some similarity with the shape of pigs.

These animals reach an average length of at least 60 centimeters, making them extremely large. Their habitat is in areas close to water where they are mostly submerged. They are animals that usually feed on some plants, which is why they are considered omnivorous. On some occasions they feed on some type of material of animal origin.

Yellow eared sliders

It has been coined the scientific name of “Trachemys scripta scripta”, which is easy to locate as its habitat the region of the United States and Mexico. Due to the particular characteristics they have, in some way they are usually considered as domestic animals, in fact, it is one of the most commercialized turtles in the world for different purposes.

Among their physical characteristics, it can be seen that they have yellow stripes on the sides of their heads, hence their colloquial name of yellow-eared turtle. It is also observed that the average size of these animals is at least 30 centimeters, so compared to the rest of the turtles, they are usually considered one of the largest.

Red eared sliders

These have the scientific name of “Trachemys scripta elegans”, and it is very common to find them in regions like Mexico and part of the United States, especially in the eastern part. They are usually animals that are predominantly used as pets, so to some extent it could be said that they are domestic. They usually measure on average about 30 centimeters in diameter.

Among the characteristics that we can find in this type of turtles, is the fact that they are usually dark green in color with some yellow areas. In the particular case of the head, in the lateral part of the same it is easy to observe a red color, hence the colloquial name that is given to them; that is, they are called red-eared sliders.

Regarding the characteristics of the shell, these are presented in a semi-inclined shape, and it is usually an ideal refuge for the turtles themselves. These are of the type of semi-aquatic turtles, that is, they can live simultaneously according to their needs, both in water and on land. For the same reason it will find its food in these two areas.