Wot’s Wacky july

What’s the difference between a turtle and a tortoise?

Turtles have flatter backs than tortoises and spend nearly all their time underwater. Tortoises have humped shells and only go into water for a drink or a bath. They don’t travel very far as all their walking is on land.

Turtle and tortoise fun facts:

North America has lots of turtle species, but Europe has only two species of turtles and three species of tortoises.

The top, domed part of a turtle’s shell is called the carapace and the bottom part is called the plastron.

The shell of a turtle is made up of 60 different bones

The pancake tortoise wedges itself between rocks if threatened with danger, and then blows itself up with air. It’s impossible to pull it out!

Adult tortoises can survive for a year without water

The Desert Tortoise spends most of its life in underground burrows.



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