Carnivore

An animal whose main diet consists of meat.

Herbivore

An animals whose main diet consists of plant, vegetable & fruit matter

Omnivore

An animal whose diet consists of meat, plant, vegetable & fruit matter in similar quantities

Insectivore

An animal whose main diet consists of insects

Captivity

An animal that is cared for in an artificial environment

Habitat

The environment in which the animal survives & thrives

Diurnal

An animal which is active during day light hours

Nocturnal

An animal which is active during the night time

Crepuscular

An animal which is most active at dawn & dusk

Predator

An animal which hunts other animals for food

Prey

An animal which is hunted by a predator

Bird

An animal with warm blood, egg laying & with feathers covering their body. Most have the ability to fly

Reptile

A cold blooded animal with a protective skin, scales or shell covering the body. Most lay eggs

Mammal

Warm blooded animals with hair or fur. Almost all have live young

Invertebrate

An animal without a spinal column - backbone

Amphibian

An animal which lay eggs in water, live on land & water & have moist skin. Most adults have 4 legs

Insect

An animal with 6 legs and 3 separate body parts

Mollusc

An animal with a hard shell and muscular foot

home - animals - reptiles - tortoise

Tortoises

We believe that turtles split from the lineage which lead to all the other reptiles (including dinosaurs, pterosaurs, mammals, birds etc) around 300 million years ago (MYA).

Fossils discovered in Germany and Thailand date around 215 million years and few differences exist between these earliest ancestors and species living today. Currently there are an estimated 300 species of tortoise, turtle and terrapin.

Difference between a Tortoise and Turtle

Americans tend to refer to all reptiles with a hard shell as turtles, however there is a distinction to be made.

Generally we refer to those which live on land as tortoises and those which spend most or all their time in water as turtles. All turtles return to land to lay their eggs though.

Fresh water turtles tend to be referred to as terrapins with term turtle representing those which live in the sea. This terminology has been clouded somewhat with regional dialects and colloquial terminology.

The easiest way of determining is this;-

Tortoises have claws on short-stumpy legs and are land-living (terrestrial).
Terrapins have webbing between their claws and spend equal times on land and in water.
Turtles have flippers and no claws and spend all their time in the water.

Diet

Tortoises are mainly herbivorous as they are too slow to catch other animals, although some (mainly tropical based tortoises) will happily feed on any insects which happen to still be on the leaf they are eating or if they find any carrion (dead animal carcass), but this is opportunistic feeding only.

None have teeth, instead have a primitive sharp jaw which cuts their food. We refer to this as a beak.

Side or Straight Necked

A tortoise withdraws it's head inside the shell but there is a difference in how they do this. Some twist their neck and rest it on the side of the shell - these all live in freshwater either permanently or semi-permanently. Others appear to draw their necks straight back, this is due to an S shaped neck. All terrestrial tortoises do this and a few which live in water.

Did you know that...

Biggest - The Leatherback Turtle which averages at around 2 metres from beak to the tip of the tail.
Strongest Jaws - Belong to the Alligator Snapping Turtle who could easily bit a finger or toe off.
Sleepiest - Has to be the Horsefield Tortoise of Russia who are only active for around 3 months in a year before retiring underground to hibernate.
Oldest - Currently, the record goes to Harriet who was 176 years of age and she is believed to be one of three that Charles Darwin had brought home from his voyage on the Beagle. Sadly Harriet died in 2006 at the Australia Zoo.
Unconfirmed claims from others are that their tortoises have reached as much as 300 years of age having been in the family for this long. With many claiming their tortoise has exceeded 200 years, there may well be older tortoises around.