Question: What are turtles ?

Answer: Turtles are reptiles which have a hard shell enclosing all of their internal organs and body. Their origins date back to the Triassic Period ( about 200 million years ago ). There are about 250 turtle species in the world. Due to exploitation by humans (for shell, meat and eggs), the world population of turtles is in decline. Many of them are on the endangered species list. Turtles come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. There are species only 6 inches ( 15 cm ) in diameter ( like for example the North American box turtle ), and the giant leatherback sea turtle, which may attain lengths of up to 8 ft ( 2.4 m ). The upper shell of the turtle is called carapace and the lower is called plastron. Due to adaptive changes their structure vary among different turtle species. Some of the aquatic turtles, the soft-shelled turtles for exaple, have their carapace covered with leathery skin. Majority of turtles have their shells hard. To find out more about what turtles are please click here. Thanks for asking! Stan

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