- Are turtles and tortoises the same thing?
That's one of the most common questions
we get in herpetology.
In this video, we're gonna talk about it
because all tortoises are in fact turtles,
but it's not the other way around.
(whimsical jazz music)
So, all tortoises are, in fact, turtles,
and that's because turtles and tortoises
belong to the group Testudines, also known as Chelonia.
And what that means is that they are vertebrates
that are encased or encompassed by a shell.
And we all know that the turtle or tortoise's shell
is a permanent part of its body,
unlike that of a hermit crab.
So why don't we just call all of them turtles.
And you'll see people correcting each other constantly,
but don't blame me, blame science.
Tortoises are turtles,
but turtles are not tortoises.
So if all turtles are not tortoises,
is tortoise just some kind of neat or fancy way
to refer to a type of turtle?
Well, no, not really because there are notable differences
between turtles and tortoises.
And as you can see right here
with this yearling Galapagos tortoise
and this adult male map turtle,
there are vast differences.
So it's really no surprise that a lot of people think,
well, there's no way turtles and tortoises
can be the exact same thing.
So, there's some fine print there.
There is some gray area.
But the truth of the matter is that tortoises are turtles.
Although turtles and tortoises do belong to the same family,
they do have separate classifications,
and that's partly due to their anatomy
and also to what they're adapted to live in.
In the case of most turtles, they live an aquatic life.
And we're not just talking about sea turtles.
We're talking about fresh water turtles,
like the map turtle right here.
And you can see that especially in his rear feet,
which are basically like paddles.
They're so highly webbed that this turtle
can streamline through the water.
And that's also thanks to his less-domed shell
and how sleek his body and shell have been designed.
That highly contrasts a tortoise.
Now, when it comes to the tortoises,
one of their most recognizable traits
are those elephantine back feet.
They really look like they belong to an elephant.
Their front limbs are not flipper-like whatsoever.
And although these animals do appreciate water,
they do not live their lives in water.
Tortoises truly are designed to live their lives
primarily on land, even though some of them
are pretty good swimmers.
In the case of the giant Aldabra tortoises,
they've been known to swim from island to island.
It's in the way that they travel, though.
Those animals aren't diving down deep
and streamlining through the water.
They're essentially floating.
When it comes to the diets of turtles and tortoises,
one misconception is you will hear people say
that a main difference is that tortoises
are solely vegetarians.
Whereas turtles are omnivorous,
eating both plant matter and animal matter.
Well, let me offer you a little bit of information here.
Tortoises can and will consume animal matter.
Some tortoises, like the South American red-footed tortoise,
really enjoys animal matter.
And that's not the only species that will do that.
A lot of tortoises, Hermann's tortoises,
will even get themselves killed on roadways
because they're helping themselves to a road-killed animal.
So, it's not as cut and dry
as some of the literature out there will tell you
when it comes to the diets of these animals.
But mostly there's a little bit more
of a vegetarian in a tortoise
and a little bit more of an omnivore,
or even carnivore, in a turtle.
So just like the Galapagos tortoise you just got to see,
I have two more super classic quintessential tortoises.
Dave right here is a South American red-foot tortoise,
and Zuri right here is an African leopard tortoise.
You'll notice both tortoises have significant arcs,
or domes, to their carapaces, which is the top shell.
And right off the bat, you will notice the structure
of both their front and rear feet,
and particularly on the rear feet,
just how elephantine they look.
Tortoises are really kind of burly looking animals,
very primitive.
And even though a species like a Galapagos tortoise
or a red-foot tortoise are suitable
for a more humid environment,
they look like they kind of all belong
in the desert because of how rugged they appear to be.
Now, when it comes to water,
red-foot tortoises really, really, really love water.
And even though they don't swim in ponds
or lakes or anything like that,
like a red-eared slider or a map turtle would,
they do love wading in it
and even taking to streams and getting some cool off
when it gets that hot.
Leopard tortoises, on the other hand,
have been known to cross rivers,
some of which actually have some
pretty fast-moving waters in them.
Tortoise species such as these
are really no stranger to water,
but it's really, again, about how they use it
and how they're capable of moving through it.
They cannot dive into it and swim with ease.
They have to figure out how to stay buoyant
and simply get back to land
because they are truly designed for a life on land.
Sometimes nature throws us for a loop.
So you just heard me say
that turtles have more sleeker looks to them.
They're a little more streamlined for an aquatic life.
Well, what about when a tortoise is really flat,
like the African pancake tortoise?
We've done several videos
about these guys and girls right here,
and how they don't even fit the bill
with turtle or tortoise.
But they are, through and through, a tortoise,
which of course does make them a turtle.
We already talked about that.
But they are classified with the tortoises.
They have those elephantine feet,
and they are suited for a life on land.
And in fact, although these tortoises appreciate some rain,
and they'll try to drink it from puddles and rocks,
they purposely stay away from any kind of body of water.
Okay, so now I have two aquatic turtles, not tortoises.
But you might be noticing this one right here, saying,
"That's a terrapin."
Well, yeah, that is the very famous diamondback terrapin.
But folks just like the tortoise thing,
terrapins are in fact turtles.
So it's no surprise that these species
are equipped for a life in water.
And the only time that these turtles really use the land
is to bask in the sun.
If they're females, they will lay their eggs on land.
And sometimes, in the case of painted turtles mostly,
they will travel across land to body of water
to body of water.
You could see how sleek their bodies are
and how their shells are flatter,
similar to that of a pancake tortoise.
But really the big indicator are those highly-webbed feet.
And the fact that the back feet are like giant paddles
to the point where, in some cases,
they don't even really look like they really fit the body,
like they're not proportionate.
These animals can glide through the water with ease,
and they will launch themselves off rocks, logs and banks
to get away from humans and predators.
Diamondback terrapins are the only native species
to the brackish waterways of our country.
Whereas the eastern painted turtle right here
is a famously-known species that tends to spend most,
if not all, of its time in more fresh water.
Now, you'll hear people in other countries
saying things like, "Well terrapins are the animals
that occur in water. Tortoises all occur on land.
And the only real turtles are those in the ocean,
which would be the sea turtles."
Now in each country, things might be different,
but when you are going with science, that's not the case.
Sea turtles are turtles, just like the diamondback terrapin
and the painted turtle.
And the tortoises are the species that we just showed you.
But you'll also see a lot of people refer
to two other types of turtles as tortoises.
And while long time ago, they were called tortoises
in literature, they are, in fact, not.
And I'm talking about the box and wood turtles.
What I have here are three very young box turtles.
We have a Florida, a Chinese box turtle,
a gulf coast box turtle.
Of course, the one and only Otis
who's gonna have to stay in my hands,
so he doesn't attack anybody here.
And a representative of the wood turtles.
This is the North American wood turtle.
But wood turtles go all the way down
into South America and other areas.
When it comes to wood and box turtles,
so many people mistaken them for tortoises,
and old literature doesn't help
because a lot of times these were listed in books
as box tortoises and wood tortoises.
They are, in fact, actually turtles.
They do have some webbing to their feet.
They can take to water very easily.
And while you should never go
and throw a box turtle in a lake,
they absolutely can submerge and swim.
It's pretty amazing.
Wood turtles are also pretty aquatic.
And, in fact, North American wood turtles live
in mountain streams and around them.
They spend a great deal of time in the water
and also on land, like a tortoise would,
but they are not a tortoise.
Both species are omnivorous,
eating both plant matter and animal matter.
And they will not hesitate to attack things.
They will take down small birds,
small mammals and plenty of invertebrates.
Of course, one of the most interesting thing
about box turtles, which wood turtles do not have,
is the hinge on the plastron that allows them
to fully close up.
They're not the only turtle species with that.
Mud turtles have it, so do Blanding's turtles,
to name just a couple.
And even some tortoises, like Greek tortoises,
have hinges on the plastron,
but the big difference here is that none of them
can fully close up like the amazing box turtles.
Although box turtles and wood turtles
have that rugged appearance like a tortoise does,
they are actually more closely related to pond turtles
because they are in the Emydidae family.
Might be hard for you guys to believe,
but it is, in fact, the ultimate truth.
And you will hear people call out Otis as being a tortoise.
But folks, he is a turtle through and through.
So, just like how all toads are frogs,
and newts are salamanders,
tortoises and terrapins are turtles.
These animals are all extremely unique in their own right.
And as we already discussed,
they're classified differently to a certain extent.
Tortoises are extremely unique,
and we call them tortoises here.
But there really is no argument there.
If somebody tells you that all tortoises are turtles,
that is the truth, folks.
That is science.
There's a lot of opinions that get thrown around out there,
especially on social media, and sometimes people
just don't know how to label things properly.
Take Hermann's tortoise for example.
A lot of people call them Herman tortoises.
It was discovered by a French naturalist
whose last name is Hermann.
Therefore, it's Hermann's tortoise, not Herman tortoise.
But that's just one little simple example.
And it's fun to have a healthy debate
about that kind of stuff.
But you can't ignore science.
It is the truth.
It's what we all go by and what we should go by.
But in the end, every single one of these animals
is peculiar, unique, special and charismatic
in its very own right
Whether it's a terrapin, a turtle or a tortoise,
or if you just want to call them all turtles,
that's perfectly fine.
(light jazz music)