How Many Types of Turtles Are There?
Quick Answer
As of 2009, there are 270 species of turtles, and more are being discovered. Turtles have been on the Earth for 230 million years and predate dinosaurs. Turtles have developed multiple habitats and live anywhere except the Arctic and Antarctic.
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Full Answer
The desert tortoise lives in hot, dry environments. The Malayan box turtle lives in hot, humid and aquatic environments. The Vietnamese wood turtle lives in wooded, cool limestone mountains. The diamondback terrapin lives in brackish water throughout the eastern and southern United States.
There are seven species of sea turtles, including the green, leatherback, loggerhead, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley and flatback sea turtles. All turtles have shells that they cannot remove. Shells are used as protection from weather and predators. The largest turtle is the leatherback sea turtle at 95 inches long, and the smallest turtle is the speckled cape padloper tortoise measuring 3 inches. Female sea turtles lay 50 to 200 eggs in nests on the beach and return to the sea. The eggs hatch under the sand, and the hatchlings crawl toward the sea. Only about 1 in 1,000 hatchlings will survive into adulthood. Other turtles create nests in similar ways and do not attend to their nests.
Learn more about TurtlesRelated Questions
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Q:
What Are Some Different Types of Turtles?
A: Different types of turtles include the green sea turtle, the spiny soft shell turtle and the mata mata. The green sea turtle spends much of its life at sea... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
What Do Sea Turtles Eat?
A: There are several species of sea turtles, and the diets of these animals vary. Carnivorous sea turtles eat meat, while herbivorous sea turtles are plant ea... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
What Do Yellow Belly Slider Turtles Eat?
A: Yellow belly slider turtles eat small fish, frogs and other aquatic species as well as aquatic plants found in their habitats. The diet of yellow belly sli... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
What Do Soft Shell Turtles Eat?
A: Softshell turtles are mostly carnivorous and commonly consume insects, molluscs, fish, crustaceans and amphibians, although a few species also eat plants o... Full Answer >Filed Under:
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