Turtles and Tortoises

Reptiles with a shell. Tortoises live on land, while many turtles live in water.

Subcategories

🐢 Sea Turtles (1)

8 entries

A large African spurred tortoise walking across green grass.

African Spurred TortoiseCentrochelys sulcata (also called Geochelone sulcata)The largest mainland African tortoise, a burrowing plant-eater of the dry lands south of the Sahara, also called the sulcata tortoise.

An alligator snapping turtle with a ridged, spiky shell resting on grass.

Alligator Snapping TurtleMacrochelys temminckiiThe largest freshwater turtle in the United States, which lures fish into its open jaws with a worm-like bit on its tongue.

A diamondback terrapin with a patterned shell and spotted gray skin walking on grass.

Diamondback TerrapinMalaclemys terrapinA colorful turtle of coastal salt marshes from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico, the only turtle besides sea turtles that lives in brackish water.

An eastern box turtle with an orange-and-brown patterned shell walking on pavement.

Eastern Box TurtleTerrapene carolinaA land turtle of the eastern United States that can close its shell like a box and may live more than 100 years.

A green sea turtle swimming over a sandy sea floor near Moorea, French Polynesia, seen from above.

Green Sea TurtleChelonia mydasA large sea turtle that grazes on seagrass and algae, named for the color of its fat rather than its shell.

A mata mata turtle with a flat, fringed head resting on stones underwater.

Mata MataChelus fimbriataA camouflaged Amazon turtle with a flat head and snorkel nose that vacuums up fish by suddenly opening its mouth.

Three pancake tortoises with flat brown shells resting among rocks and straw.

Pancake TortoiseMalacochersus tornieriA critically endangered East African tortoise with a thin, flat, flexible shell that hides in rock cracks instead of in its shell.

A radiated tortoise with yellow star-like lines on its domed shell walking over rocks.

Radiated TortoiseAstrochelys radiataA critically endangered Madagascar tortoise named for the yellow star-like lines on its high, domed shell.