Pl. bring out the main differences which are explicit.
2006-12-28 15:30:11 · 6 answers · asked by mksdri 1 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
turtles have flippers and live most of there life in water and tortoises have feet and live on the land
2006-12-28 15:40:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
All shelled reptiles of the Order Testudines are called turtles.
Tortoises are specific type of turtle adapted to life on the land. True tortoises usually have thick, high-domed shells (the Pancake tortoise is an exception) and elephant-like front legs with the elephant-like stubby toes and front nails.
True tortoises are members of the Family Testudinidae.
Besides this, the terms 'turtle', 'tortoise', and 'terrapin' have other usages as well. In most of the world, turtles are aquatic or semi-aquatic and tortoises are land-dwelling, whether they are members of Testudinidae or not.
Some places use the term 'terrapin' to describe semi-aquatic turtles, and Australians call several species of water turtles 'tortoises'!
2006-12-29 03:39:25 · answer #2 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it lives on the land, it's called a tortoise. But if it lives in the water, it's called a turtle. In Spanish, the word is "tortuga," which means both turtle and tortoise, because they're both essentially the same kind of animal. They just have different terminology in English depending on where it lives.
2006-12-28 16:24:44 · answer #3 · answered by Exotic traveler 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tortoise is what there called when they live on land, and turtles live in the water turtles also have webbed feet or they have flippers(fins) and some turtles have webbed feet but live on land and in the water.
2006-12-29 11:18:52 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
go to www.petroplis.com. we have 2 sulcata tortoises. i do know that they don't hibernate because they are desert tortoises. they also grow very big! ours are about 10 yrs old and roughly 55 lbs. if you go to our site, go to the vision and values and click on MORE. their pics are there. they are quite interesting creatures, but need a cleanup crew of their own! but we love them in spite of some of their annoying behaviors. They will RAM into you when you least expect it. we got then as foster babies last year. but i think they are staying. we are learning every day about them. they are NOT like any turtles i've ever known
2006-12-28 15:45:03 · answer #5 · answered by dog whisperer 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the diff is that a turtle is smaller then a tortoise
2006-12-30 04:56:30 · answer #6 · answered by Polish gal 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋