1. Sea turtles cry. The green sea turtle lives in the salty
ocean, and gets rid of the excess salt from its body by way
of its eyes, in very salty tears.

2. All turtles lay their eggs on land, even turtles that
never come out of the water otherwise such as the giant sea
turtles.

3. Most turtles can live much longer than people can. One
turtle was estimated to be fifty years old when it was
caught, and it lived another one hundred and fifty-two years
after that!

4. Turtles are cold-blooded, like all reptiles. But the
Blanding's Turtle, a common North American freshwater
species, has been seen swimming under the ice in the Great
Lakes in winter.

5. Some water turtles can absorb oxygen through their skin
on their necks and cloacal areas (their rear ends), so they
can not only stay underwater for long periods, they can
hibernate underwater.

6. Some land turtles can outrun a person on level ground.
But they still can't outrun a hare.

7. A turtle's shell is made of over sixty bones all fused
together, and they are connected to the bottom shell, so a
turtle can't really take off its shell like they do in the
cartoons.

8. The largest turtle ever found was a fossil of a sea
turtle that was over fifteen feet long! The largest turtle
species living now is the Leatherback Sea Turtle, which can
grow to as large as nine feet long, six feet wide and can
weigh over 1,000 pounds.



9. Some aquatic turtles such as the snapping turtle and
soft-shelled turtles have eyes that let them easily look up.
They can sit on the bottom under the water and look up for
predators or food swimming by, or lay in shallow water with
just their eyes and nostrils above the water so land
predators can't see them.

10. No turtles have teeth. Instead they have a strong beak
to cut and chew their food. Many also have sharp ridges on
their beaks to saw through their food. Some turtles catch
and eat fish; so those beaks work pretty well.

See also:  Turtle Trivia


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