Turtle Facts

Turtles are an ancient group of animals, dating back to the Triassic age, some 230 million years ago.
Approximately 250 turtle species are currently living.
The leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle species in the world.
The Galapagos Tortoise is the largest tortoise species in the world.
The Bog Turtle is the smallest turtle species in the world.
The Speckled Padloper Tortoise of South Africa is the smallest tortoise species in the world.
Wild turtles live on every continent except for Antarctica. However, the largest number of the world's turtle species live in warm regions.
Nest temperature plays the most important role in determing sea turtle gender.
The upper shell of a turtle, called the carapace, consists of approximately 60 bones.
All turtles lay their eggs on land.
Tortoises and turtles do not have teeth.
Turtles do not have vocal chords, although some species make hissing or grunting sounds.
A group of turtles is called a bale.
Some turtle species have five toes on each limb. Other turtle species have three or four toes.
Recently some turtles thought to be extinct in the wild, Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle and the Arakan forest turtle, have been rediscovered living in parts of Southeast Asia.
Eastern Box turtles are omnivores that sometimes eat poisonous mushrooms.