Turtle: Types of Turtles and Tortoise Facts

Turtles that belong to the family Testudinidae are creatures that fall into the category of reptiles. Believed to be in existence since 200 million years, a variety of tortoises are found on earth. This creature too has evolved along with other types of mammals wherein you can see beautiful varieties in most of the beaches and other water bodies like oceans.

Different types of tortoises are found around the world that  vary in size. Usually, the size ranges from few centimeters to a little over a meter wherein you can find a diurnal variety or a crepuscular that depends on the ambient temperatures.  

Types of Turtles

A variety of turtles are found around the world that can be classified into different classes as per the physical traits. Besides this, most of the nomenclature also gives importance to other factors like the food that they eat and the habitat where they are usually found. Some of the most common categories of tortoises are:

• Galapagos Turtle - Galapagos turtles are very famous and several zoologists visit the island to study the beautiful creatures. The tortoise that is found here is believed to be a large sized animal as compared to the other types found in other regions. You can see turtles of about 4 feet in length that weighs almost around 350 lbs. Apart from this; Galapagos turtles are also believed to have a long life span wherein 100 year old tortoises have been reported.  But this species is vulnerable too and suffers badly when other species are introduced in its vicinity.

• Green Sea Turtle- Green sea turtle usually grows to a length of about 3 to 4 feet and weights approximately 200 kg. This creature possesses flipper like limbs that are usually used to propel the body through the flow of water.

• Hidden Necked Tortoise – Hidden necked tortoises are believed to be on the verge of extinction as only 200 species are living today.

• Hawksbill Sea Turtle - Hawksbill sea turtle is a beautiful creature that possesses marked carapace on its body surface. Besides this, it also marbled with yellow, amber and brown colored markings that makes a favorite among the turtle lovers and enthusiasts. As a result, the breed has become an endangered species as it is targeted and hunted for its shell.

• Leatherback Sea Turtle - Leatherback sea turtle have carapaces that are hard bony plates. This is a distinctive feature as compared to other varieties of sea turtles wherein the carapace is somewhat elastic and rubbery in texture.

• Loggerhead Sea Turtle - Loggerhead Sea Turtles grow to a length of approximately 28 to 39 inches and are known to possess large sized hard shells. Besides this, the sea turtles possess strong and muscular jaws and a large head.

• Side Necked Turtles - Side necked turtles differ from the rest of the turtle species as their eating habits are unusual from other species. This breed is known to posses both endoskeleton as well as an exoskeleton.