![]() Here are some examples of different types of turtles and where they can be found: ![]() Foster and Smith, a veterinarian business based in Wisconsin. Only five species live in Europe, according to Drs. Most turtle species are found in southeastern North America and South Asia. Turtles are very adaptive and can be found on every continent, except Antarctica. Sea turtles have lost the ability to retract their heads. Pleurodires pull their heads in sideways cryptodires draw their heads straight back into the shell. Turtles are placed in the two suborders based on the method of retraction, according to ADW. Many turtles are able to retract their heads and feet into their shells. Scutes are made of keratin, the same material that makes up humans' fingernails. The shell is made up of about 60 bones that are covered by plates called scutes. The top part of the shell is called the carapace, and the bottom is called the plastron, according to the San Diego Zoo. (Image credit: E64, distributed by Wikimedia under a Creative Commons license.) ShellĪ turtle's shell is a modified ribcage and part of its vertebral column, according to the Animal Diversity Web (ADW) at the University of Michigan. (140 kg).Ī Chinese three-keeled pond turtle. It measures up to 3.6 feet (1 m) across, and weigh up to 309 lbs. The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is the largest softshell turtle. It can grow to 2.5 feet (80 cm) long and weigh as much as 200 lbs. The largest freshwater turtle in North America is the alligator snapping turtle. (260 kg), according to the San Diego Zoo. The Galápagos tortoise grows up to 6 feet (183 cm) long and 573 lbs. (272 to 680 kilograms) and is about 4.5 to 5.25 feet (139 to 160 centimeters) long, according to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF). The largest sea turtle species is the leatherback turtle. With so many different types of turtle, there is no average size. Terrapins live on land and in water, usually in swamps, ponds, lakes and rivers.They also dig burrows with their strong forelimbs, and slip underground when the sun gets too hot. Their feet are round and stumpy, adapted for walking on land. Freshwater turtles live in ponds and lakes, and they climb out of the water onto logs or rocks to bask in the warm sun. Sea turtles rarely leave the ocean, except to lay eggs in the sand. They are adapted for aquatic life, with webbed feet or flippers and a streamlined body. Turtles spend most of their lives in water.
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