Summary ²

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines (or Chelonii) characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs and acting as a shield. "Turtle" may refer to the order as a whole (American English) or to fresh-water and sea-dwelling testudines (British English).

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Richard Coldiron, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Richard Coldiron
2. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testudines

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CONABIO
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

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