Turtles And Tortoises (Testudines)

This group gathers Reptiles subcategory members belonging to the order Testudines, the turtles and tortoises, instantly recognizable for the bony shell, fused to the spine and ribs, that encloses and protects the body. It spans fully aquatic sea turtles such as the green, loggerhead, hawksbill, leatherback, olive ridley, Kemp's ridley and flatback sea turtles, freshwater turtles such as the common snapping turtle, red-eared slider, painted turtle and the softshell turtles with their leathery rather than hard shells, and the largely or entirely land-dwelling tortoises, including the giant tortoises of the Galapagos and Aldabra, the smaller African spurred and leopard tortoises, and species named for their patterned shells such as the Indian star tortoise and radiated tortoise. It also includes the Fernandina Island Galapagos tortoise, long presumed extinct until a single living individual was found in 2019, and the alligator snapping turtle, one of the heaviest freshwater turtle species, whose worm-shaped tongue lure sits inside a permanently open, camouflaged mouth. Every species here lacks teeth, instead cutting and crushing food with a horny beak.