Just having a shell doesn’t explain the long-term success of the turtle and the tortoise, although it certainly sets them apart. As an order, called Testudinata or Testudines, they’re fascinating.

They live on every continent except Antarctica, survive in a wide variety of extreme environments, and eat unthinkable diets. Plus they’ve been doing it for longer than we’ve been around as a species.

• People often use the words turtle and tortoise interchangeably, but these reptiles have distinct differences:
• In many turtle species, females are larger than males, while generally speaking, tortoise males are larger than females.
• Most turtles are aquatic or semi-aquatic, while tortoises live on land. Tortoises, however, are often good swimmers.

also read: Amazing facts: Do you know these interesting facts about Cats?

• A tortoise's shell is made up of 60 different bones all connected to each other
• The top of a tortoise's shell is called a “carapace”
• The underside of the shell is called a “plastron”
• The carapace and the plastron of a tortoises shell is connected by what is known as a bridge
• Tortoises can retract their heads and all their limbs including their tails into their shells when they feel threatened or attacked by predators
• There are around 40 different species of tortoise found around the world.
• A Tortoise is a turtle, but a turtle isn’t a tortoise because strictly speaking a turtle is any shelled reptile belonging to the order Chelonii. The term tortoise is more specific, referring to terrestrial turtles.
• Like other reptiles, tortoises are cold blooded animals.
• The main difference between tortoise and turtle is that tortoise is primarily land animal while turtle mainly live in sea. Tortoises have large dome shaped heavy shell while in turtles the shell is light, flat and streamlined. In tortoise feet are short and sturdy with bent legs while turtles have webbed feet and long claws making them glide easily.
• Tortoises have extremely strong mouths but no teeth instead they have horny type beaks
• Tortoises have good all round vision and a very good sense of smell
• The most endangered species in the world are the Yellow-footed, Brazilian Giant, Forest, South American, and the South American Yellow-footed Tortoises
• Unlike turtles , tortoises can’t swim but they can hold their breath for a long time.
• A group of tortoises is called a creep but they are usually solitary animals.
• Giant tortoises keep growing their whole lives.
• Tortoises drink water through their noses.
• Tortoises have extremely strong mouths but no teeth instead they have horny type beaks.
• The top domed part of a tortoises’ shell is called the carapace, and the bottom underlying part is called the plastron. Both are connected by what is known as a bridge.

also read: Amazing Facts: Surprising facts about Alaska