World Turtle Day 2023 11 Fascinating Truths about this Reptile

Image Credit :  Google 

Around 356 different species of turtles can be found worldwide. Hawksbill turtles, leatherback turtles, flatback turtles, loggerhead turtles, red-eared slider turtles, western painted turtles, and African side-necked turtles are a few of the more well-known species.

Image Credit :  Google 

Reptiles in the genus Testudines include turtles. All turtle species have bony shells covering their entire bodies. The plastron is the lower shell, and the carapace is the top shell. Their rib and spinal column mature into bony shells.

Image Credit :  Google 

A turtle can never emerge from its shell. The bones and cartilage that make up the turtle's shell are an essential component of its body.

Image Credit :  Google 

When threatened, some turtles can pull their heads  and limbs back into their shells.

Image Credit :  Google 

Most species of turtles are omnivores, although some,  like tortoises, are primarily herbivores.

Image Credit :  Google 

Although turtles lack teeth, loggerheads and alligator snapping turtles have strong jaws that enable them to eat lobsters, fish, mussels, and other mollusks.

Image Credit :  Google 

Turtles can easily live for 50 years or longer. Box turtles  have an average lifespan of 30 years in the wild.

Image Credit :  Google 

Sea turtles can live up to 70 years or more and some  do not achieve sexual maturity until they are 50.

Image Credit :  Google 

Turtles come in a wide range of sizes, weighing between 70 and 1,500 pounds and reaching heights of up to 2 feet.

Image Credit :  Google 

More than a hundred million years ago, the largest  turtle ever known to man lived. It was 21 feet long and  was known as the Archelon.

Image Credit :  Google 

Image Credit :  Google 

Turtles can descend up to 3,000 feet into the ocean in pursuit of jellyfish. In between deep dives to search for food, turtles surface to breathe.