Turtles are reptiles of the order Chelonii or Testudines characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs and vertebrae. They are the most closely related of all reptiles. The most common turtle species in the United States is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), which is found from the Gulf of Mexico to Florida.
Alligators are large, slow-moving reptiles that live in swamps, marshes, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas.
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Why tortoise is not amphibian?
Tortoises are considered to be reptiles and not salamanders because of their characteristics. They are covered with scales. They breathe through their bodies. Tortoise is classified as a reptile in the order Carnivora. It is the largest land-dwelling vertebrate on the planet and is found in all continents except Antarctica. The largest tortoise in captivity is a male weighing in at over 1,000 pounds.
Is tortoise a mammal or bird?
These animals belong to the class Reptilia. Testudines and the family Testudinidae are what they are further classified into. Latin word for “snake” is the root of the term Testudines. The other subfamily is known as the Crocodile Family. All of these families are found in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, North America and Oceania.
Is tortoise an animal mammal?
The order testudines has a family of reptiles called tortoises. They are found in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. The tortoise is the largest land-dwelling reptile in the world, with a body length of up to 2.5 m (8 ft) and a tail length ranging from 0.8 to 1.2 m.
It is also the second-largest land animal after the crocodile. Tortoise shells are made of keratin, a protein-rich protein that is used by the body to build and repair tissues. Keratin also serves as the main structural component of cartilage, which is a type of connective tissue that supports the skeleton of bones and muscles.
Is a turtle a mammal or amphibian?
Turtles are four-legged animals with scales covering their body. Amphibians have a coating on their bodies that is smooth. The word amphibian comes from the Greek word for “water-lily” and the Latin word “amphibianus” which means “swimming lizard.” The term “lizard” is also used to refer to a group of amphibians that includes frogs, toads, salamanders, snakes, lizards, and turtles.
Is tortoise mammal or reptile?
All tortoises are in fact turtles, but not all of them are. They are also found on the coasts of North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
What is a tortoise classified as?
All turtles, tortoises, and terrapins are reptiles. They are referred to as chelonians by scientists because they are in the same order as the Greek word Chelos. Chelonia is a group of animals that includes reptiles, birds, fish, amphibians and mammals. It also includes some invertebrates, such as mollusks and crustaceans.
Chelonians are found in all parts of the world, but are most common in tropical and subtropical regions. They can be found on land, in water, on the sea floor, under rocks, or in burrows.
Do tortoises lay eggs?
It is believed that tortoises can lay fertile eggs up to four years after mating, although fertility reduces significantly after each season. After fertilisation, the tiny eggs are divided into clutches of two to twelve, depending on the species, and then one clutch at a time are incubated by the mother until they hatch. The eggs hatch in a matter of days and the young hatch within a few days.
The young are fed by their mother for the first few weeks of their life, but as they grow they are able to forage for food on their own. By the time they reach the age of three or four, the tortoise is fully independent of its mother and can move about freely in the wild.
Can a tortoise swim?
Although sea turtles can hold their breath for as long as seven hours, most land-dwelling tortoises cannot hold their breath for more than a few minutes and will drown if left to their own devices. The long answer, however, is that tortoises do not breathe through their skin. Instead, their lungs are filled with air from the surrounding water.
This air is then pumped into the turtle’s lungs through a tube called a trachea, which is located at the base of the neck. The trach is connected to the lungs by a series of small tubes called bronchi, each of which has a small hole in the middle. These holes allow air to pass through, but they also allow water vapor to enter the body through the bronchioles.
Water vapor is a mixture of water and carbon dioxide, and it is this vapor that is inhaled and exhaled by turtles as they breathe. When turtles breathe, they inhale the vapor and then exhale it back into their bodies. As a result, turtles are able to breathe underwater for long periods of time, even when they are not actively swimming. However, this does not mean that turtles can stay underwater indefinitely.
