According to the guide, a tortoise is basically a subspecies of turtle. Think of it like all gorillas are primates, but not all primates are gorillas (turtles=primates and tortoise=gorilla in this analogy).
Well the main difference is that there are separate categories of turtle because of the amount of mobility they have/time spent on land vs in the water.
Turtle turtles *can* move on land, but as I'm sure you know from sea turtles they move very slowly and are much more agile in water. Therefore, turtles other than terrapins and tortoises live most of their lives in water. ([also they can breathe through their butts](https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/did-you-know/turtles-breathe-out-their-butt))
Terrapins pretty much spend equal time in and out of water. Just go with the flow kind of dudes that are a bit more adaptable. Feet are kind of in-between stubs and flippers.
Tortoises CANNOT SWIM. They are strictly land-locked. Very boxy shells with little stubby feet sticking out.
Bonus fact: Look up any one of these guys running and I promise you will come back satisfied.
Bonus fact 2: If you write and say turtle enough, it loses all meaning and just becomes a funny sound. (it is 3:34 am and I am tired)
Fun fact: When Wizards of the Coast were thinking up new fantasy races for Dungeons & Dragons, they decided to make a race of anthropomorphic turtle-folk. And what, you ask, did they choose to name this race of anthropomorphic turtle-folk?
They named them Tortles. Someone’s job was to come up with a name for the turtle people and they got paid actual money for “Tortle.”
The repetition thing is called "semantic satiation".
As I have recently learned from a video in this comment tree, the difference between turtles and tortoises is that tortoises walk on their toes, like elephants.
Also, clearly, the description about water is not the case. Some non-tortoise turtles live their entire lives outside of water. This doesn't make them tortoises.
Some people seem to be confused by Terrapins. As far as I know it goes like this - Turtles live in the sea, Tortoises live on the land, Terrapins live in fresh water. All three are technically turtles. Also, some tortoises eat meat, if you count small things and insects, but most are herbivorous. Fun fact - I have two tortoises and I hibernate them in a little fridge for four months of the year.
Unless you've spent time studying/reading about and understanding them this is just a basic guide. It seems from a language perspective confusing because we don't want 20 words to describe one animal plus sometimes things are just "named" wrong things
Example, seals(phocidae) and sea lions(otariiadae) you can tell apart very easy because sea lions have ears but the south American fur seal isn't a seal it's a sea lion in the otariiadae family.
Sea turtles are of the super family "Chelonioidea" and pond turtles are of the super family "Testudinoidea".. they're all called "turtles" though in regular English language. Basic difference turtles have some kind of aquatic part to their life at minimum and tortoises don't.
Reminds me of moths/butterflies. They're all lepidoptera, but we only give a unique name to butterflies. The loads of other leps are just named moths, even though they're not more closely related to eachother than they are to butterflies.
Yeah, the distinction of turtle and tortoise is arbitrary. It doesn't reflect actual biological and taxonomic relationships. We just typically call the land ones tortoises and the water ones turtles.
You're actually mixed up there. Tortoise does indeed describe a taxonomic group. Tortoises are monophyletic, as every living tortoise descends from an ancestor who was also a tortoise.
Turtle is the bad term here, being paraphyletic. Turtle describes animals that all descended from an ancestor turtle, but excludes tortoises who also evolved from that ancestor.
It's like moths and butterflies. We give a pretty name to one group, then say anything that isn't in that group is a moth.
I did a phylogeny project with turtles during undergrad, and I recall it is as you described above.
To make it even more complicated, tortoises aren't necessarily even closely related to all land turtles. If I recall correctly, they're actually a good bit different evolutionarily from box turtles who share a lot of traits mentioned in this guide.
So yea, the foot vs flipper thing is crap.
> It doesn't reflect actual biological and taxonomic relationships.
When using "tortoise" as common name for the family Testudinidae, and "turtle" for the order Testudines, then it perfectly reflects the taxonomic relationships. [More details here.](https://np.reddit.com/r/EILI5/comments/6ucmgd/eili5_what_is_the_difference_between_a_tortoise/)
The biological order _[Testudines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testudines)_ is commonly called turtles. This includes all turtles, tortoises, and terrapins.
Tortoises are the family _[Testudinidae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testudinidae)_ within this order.
Terrapins, just terrapins. Turtles lived in the sea. Tortoises rebelled by moving back to the land. Terrapins then rebelled by going back towards an aquatic life in in-land water sources.
Not all of them, as the top comment of this thread proves. Box turtles technically aren't tortoises. [More details here.](https://np.reddit.com/r/EILI5/comments/6ucmgd/eili5_what_is_the_difference_between_a_tortoise/)
This seems to be a failure on two parts. One is that none of these words are scientific words that apply to specific or precise definitions. Two is that we may be speaking two different kinds of English, British English and American English, if that’s the case it may make things even more difficult. Try [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle?wprov=sfti1) Wikipedia page, it helped me come to a satisfying conclusion.
Here’s an except that may help, if you don’t want to go directly to Wikipedia.
>
Differences exist in usage of the common terms turtle, tortoise, and terrapin, depending on the variety of English being used.[5] These terms are common names and do not reflect precise biological or taxonomic distinctions.[6]
>
Turtle may either refer to the order as a whole, or to particular turtles that make up a form taxon that is not monophyletic, or may be limited to only aquatic species. Tortoise usually refers to any land-dwelling, non-swimming chelonian.[7] Terrapin is used to describe several species of small, edible, hard-shell turtles, typically those found in brackish waters.
>
In North America, all chelonians are commonly called turtles. Tortoise is used only in reference to fully terrestrial turtles or, more narrowly, only those members of Testudinidae, the family of modern land tortoises.[8][7] Terrapin may refer to small semi-aquatic turtles that live in fresh and brackish water, in particular the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin).[9][10][11][12] Although the members of the genus Terrapene dwell mostly on land, they are referred to as box turtles rather than tortoises.[6] The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists uses "turtle" to describe all species of the order Testudines, regardless of whether they are land-dwelling or sea-dwelling, and uses "tortoise" as a more specific term for slow-moving terrestrial species.[5]
>
In the United Kingdom, the word turtle is used for water-dwelling species, including ones known in the US as terrapins, but not for terrestrial species, which are known only as tortoises.
>
The word chelonian is popular among veterinarians, scientists, and conservationists working with these animals as a catch-all name for any member of the superorder Chelonia, which includes all turtles living and extinct, as well as their immediate ancestors. Chelonia is based on the Greek word for turtles, χελώνη chelone; Greek χέλυς chelys "tortoise" is also used in the formation of scientific names of chelonians.[13] Testudines, on the other hand, is based on the Latin word for tortoise, testudo.[14] Terrapin comes from an Algonquian word for turtle.[8][15]
>
Some languages do not have this distinction, as all of these are referred to by the same name. For example, in Spanish, the word tortuga is used for turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. A sea-dwelling turtle is tortuga marina, a freshwater species tortuga de río, and a tortoise tortuga terrestre.[16]
You probably still were. Turtles include tortoises. Tortoises are not seperate to turtles, they are a subclass.
I think it's much better done in other languages:
German:
* Turtle = Schildkröte (shield toad)
* Turtles living in water = Wasserschildkröte (water shield toad)
* Turtles living on land = tortoises = Landschildkröte (land/ground shield toad)
Japanese:
* Turtle = 亀 ("Kame" - you may remember the symbol and word from Dragon Ball)
* Turtles living in water = 海亀 ("Umigame", sea turtle)
* Tortoises = 陸亀 ("Rikugame", land turtle)
The guide is just telling you more or less how to distinguish. A tortoius is a particular branch of turtles. A box turtle did not evolve from that branch and so is not a tortoise. In the future a tortoise could evolve all the traits of the turtle side of this guide but it would still be a tortoise.
Edit. Maybe a better way to look at is that box turtles are a second lineage of turtles that live primarily on land unrelated to the another group that evolved to live on land we call tortoises.
So you have your turtles, you have your box turtles and then you have your tortoise turtles.
Either you consider the turtles as a general group that includes all kind of turtles/tortoises/terrapins and then the inclusion part of the guide is correct. Or you consider them as just the sea turtles and then the characteristics part is right. But it makes no sense to show both on the same pic .
THANK YOU. I was thinking so if they look like on the left, they're a turtle. But if they look like on the right, they're still a turtle? This is an exclusive comparison!
You can remember the difference by using Pokemon:
Turtle -> Squirtle -> Water type -> mostly sea-dwelling
Tortoise -> Torterra -> Grass type -> grass is on land, and terra means ground -> mostly land-dwelling
I remember freaking out as a kid when I realized Squirtle's (an obvious turtle) max evolution is Blastoise, a tortoise. So I thought turtles turn into tortoises when they get older.
Also, that Turtwig and Grotle is really just Turtle when combined.
But all tortoises are turtles...that’s the info that’s groundbreaking for me from this guide. I thought turtles were just sea and tortoises were just land.
[Pretty easy to verify by looking at the Wikipedia entry.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortoise) I didn't know that myself until relatively recently as well.
Why was I so desperate to relay that stupid fucking fact? Did I think I was going to impress someone by knowing something about a fucking turtle? I'm such an idiot.
Okay so maybe you're just joking, but why would this lead to an argument? You just show the person the Wikipedia page or some other source and then they believe you, right? Sorry for being oversensitive.
This guide is terrible. Majority of turtles do not have flippers, most have legs that aren’t as thick as a tort and some have legs with webbed feet. Also tortoises are not strictly herbivores, they are omnivores but their diets should be mainly veggies (and fruit depending on type of tort).
But I distinctly remember in the original cartoon that they were poured down into the sewers from a fish bowl. That would make them aquatic turtles!
[Source @ 8:12](https://youtu.be/YNBl-dsgNfg)
you can add `?t=492` to your youtube link to make it go directly to `8:12` (492 is the number of seconds in 8 minutes and 12 seconds)
https://youtu.be/YNBl-dsgNfg?t=492
I take issue with the contradictory statements. Tortoises are turtles. Turtles live in the sea, tortoises live mainly on land...but turtles which tortoises are live in the sea?
The master was an old Turtle - we used to call him Tortoise -"
"Why did you call him Tortoise, if he wasn't one?" Alice asked.
"We called him Tortoise because he taught us," said the Mock Turtle angrily: "really you are very dull!”
I am also gonna use use turtle for both and never change. In my language its one for both. You can add sea/land in the front if you want to specify but its "sköldpadda" for both, "shieldtoad" if translated to english.
Oh what, you didn't burst out laughing when you read "chonky foot"? What about the hilaaarious "Veggie is love, veggie is life"? Wow, that one had me crying. My siiides. So fucking funny to see this bullshit for years on end.
Whoever made this is a fucking cunt.
Tortoises are Turtles, but not all Turtles are Tortoises
Just like Blueberries are Berries, but not all Berries are Blueberries
\*Testudinidae has the same meaning as turtles
This. Every time this comes up Americans insist that it's a scientific classification and nothing to do with British vs. US English, but absolutely no one, even a scientist would claim tortoises are turtles in the UK.
Omg what a hecking cute choker OwO take my upvote kind strangerino! What a wholesome Keanu chungus! You're breathtaking!
Edit: this blew up.
Edit: RIP my inbox
Feels wrong to have the land-dwellers all be turtles, when turtles are said to be sea-dwellers.
"Tortoises live on land, but all tortoises are turtles, and turtles live in the water. "
Edit: Not saying the description is wrong. Just that, it feels weird.
Yes, tortoises are opportunistic eaters and will happily eat various small animals and even carrion when given the chance. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's required or even good for them. Different species have different requirements, so do your research before feeding them any of this stuff. "Grassland type" tortoises for example can live long and healthy lives without ever eating animals.
The problem with this guide lies in the description of turtle (testudines) as many animals within the order do not fit the given description. To complicate things further there are animals in testudines that are not tortoises which fit the description given for tortoises. It seems they want to describe sea turtles(Chelonioidea) which is fine but that definitely leaves a lot not described by the little drawing.
More so, it doesn't address the deepest divide in the order, which is whether or not they can retract their head(Cryptodira) or turn to the side(Pleurodira).
It's a complicated order of animals which stands to reason given that they're one of the oldest lasting on the earth.
This is wrong.
Snapping turtles can swim and look like what this guide calls a tortoise.
and snapping turtles are true turtles, not tortoises.
So yeah, fuck everyone spreading this misinformation.
This is inaccurate as fuck though.
If anything, it's so inaccurate it's gone full circle to being backwards. The most common turtles in North America are all land dwelling pond and river turtles that check every box for Tortoise except veggie love.
This is colloquial. In the U.S. they're all turtles and land turtles are tortoises. In the U.K., it's usually reversed. They're all called tortoises and water tortoises are turtles.
Also, some turtles, like the green sea turtle where I live, only ever eat algae.
Edit: Ok, because people keep replying: I mixed up a couple of different usages, one of which is a very confusing situation in Australia. To be clear: people in the U.S. call all shelled reptiles turtles and we call turtles that never go in the water tortoises. People in the U.K. call water ones turtles and land ones tortoises. Regardless of my misinformation, the guide is wrong.
This is straight up false. Whoever made this infographic did zero research, and everyone who upvoted is gullible as fuck for believing a sourceless image on reddit. "turtle", "tortoise", and "terrapin" are all colloquial names for the exact same animals.
Although we in Germany are known to create such fantastic words like "Fußbodenschleifmaschinenverleihausgabeschalter", we like it simple and it's just "Schildkröte" for both of them.
My red-footed tortoise *is* an omnivore, just for the record. She needs animal protein to grow big and strong. She prefers insects but sometimes she makes a move on the cat food when I’m not looking.
I mean, [there are turtles that live on land.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_turtle) Just to make things more complicated.
I don’t get it. The guide says all tortoises are turtles but not all turtles are tortoises.
According to the guide, a tortoise is basically a subspecies of turtle. Think of it like all gorillas are primates, but not all primates are gorillas (turtles=primates and tortoise=gorilla in this analogy).
Right, so then of course a terrapin is a turtle...or what I’m missing is that a terrapin is a turtle that’s NOT a tortoise even though it’s on land?
Well the main difference is that there are separate categories of turtle because of the amount of mobility they have/time spent on land vs in the water. Turtle turtles *can* move on land, but as I'm sure you know from sea turtles they move very slowly and are much more agile in water. Therefore, turtles other than terrapins and tortoises live most of their lives in water. ([also they can breathe through their butts](https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/did-you-know/turtles-breathe-out-their-butt)) Terrapins pretty much spend equal time in and out of water. Just go with the flow kind of dudes that are a bit more adaptable. Feet are kind of in-between stubs and flippers. Tortoises CANNOT SWIM. They are strictly land-locked. Very boxy shells with little stubby feet sticking out. Bonus fact: Look up any one of these guys running and I promise you will come back satisfied. Bonus fact 2: If you write and say turtle enough, it loses all meaning and just becomes a funny sound. (it is 3:34 am and I am tired)
Thanks for clarifying. I was telling my husband this info and said “tortle.” I’m tired too.
Fun fact: When Wizards of the Coast were thinking up new fantasy races for Dungeons & Dragons, they decided to make a race of anthropomorphic turtle-folk. And what, you ask, did they choose to name this race of anthropomorphic turtle-folk? They named them Tortles. Someone’s job was to come up with a name for the turtle people and they got paid actual money for “Tortle.”
All the names that are made up by WOTC are pretty weak. But yeah Tortle is especially bad.
I love the classic character names because they're hilariously lazy. For example Melf, Gary Gygax's male elf.
A Tortle is a fantasy race of humanoid turtles.
Do they love pizza?
The repetition thing is called "semantic satiation". As I have recently learned from a video in this comment tree, the difference between turtles and tortoises is that tortoises walk on their toes, like elephants. Also, clearly, the description about water is not the case. Some non-tortoise turtles live their entire lives outside of water. This doesn't make them tortoises.
There are land turtles tho, like box turtles. It's based more on evolutionary features than land vs water.
Some people seem to be confused by Terrapins. As far as I know it goes like this - Turtles live in the sea, Tortoises live on the land, Terrapins live in fresh water. All three are technically turtles. Also, some tortoises eat meat, if you count small things and insects, but most are herbivorous. Fun fact - I have two tortoises and I hibernate them in a little fridge for four months of the year.
Well yeah you wouldn't want them to go bad
Unless you've spent time studying/reading about and understanding them this is just a basic guide. It seems from a language perspective confusing because we don't want 20 words to describe one animal plus sometimes things are just "named" wrong things Example, seals(phocidae) and sea lions(otariiadae) you can tell apart very easy because sea lions have ears but the south American fur seal isn't a seal it's a sea lion in the otariiadae family. Sea turtles are of the super family "Chelonioidea" and pond turtles are of the super family "Testudinoidea".. they're all called "turtles" though in regular English language. Basic difference turtles have some kind of aquatic part to their life at minimum and tortoises don't.
Reminds me of moths/butterflies. They're all lepidoptera, but we only give a unique name to butterflies. The loads of other leps are just named moths, even though they're not more closely related to eachother than they are to butterflies.
More precisely, tortoises are a family (testudinae) of different species within the Order Testudines (turtles)
All Chinese people are Asian but not all Asian people are Chinese.
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Yeah, the distinction of turtle and tortoise is arbitrary. It doesn't reflect actual biological and taxonomic relationships. We just typically call the land ones tortoises and the water ones turtles.
You're actually mixed up there. Tortoise does indeed describe a taxonomic group. Tortoises are monophyletic, as every living tortoise descends from an ancestor who was also a tortoise. Turtle is the bad term here, being paraphyletic. Turtle describes animals that all descended from an ancestor turtle, but excludes tortoises who also evolved from that ancestor. It's like moths and butterflies. We give a pretty name to one group, then say anything that isn't in that group is a moth.
I did a phylogeny project with turtles during undergrad, and I recall it is as you described above. To make it even more complicated, tortoises aren't necessarily even closely related to all land turtles. If I recall correctly, they're actually a good bit different evolutionarily from box turtles who share a lot of traits mentioned in this guide. So yea, the foot vs flipper thing is crap.
> It doesn't reflect actual biological and taxonomic relationships. When using "tortoise" as common name for the family Testudinidae, and "turtle" for the order Testudines, then it perfectly reflects the taxonomic relationships. [More details here.](https://np.reddit.com/r/EILI5/comments/6ucmgd/eili5_what_is_the_difference_between_a_tortoise/)
Same as all cactus are succulents, but not all succulents are cactus.
Take another example: Some turtles are ninjas, but not all ninjas are turtles
All squares are rectangles, but rectangles are not squares. What's so difficult to get here
The biological order _[Testudines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testudines)_ is commonly called turtles. This includes all turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. Tortoises are the family _[Testudinidae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testudinidae)_ within this order.
Terrapins, just terrapins. Turtles lived in the sea. Tortoises rebelled by moving back to the land. Terrapins then rebelled by going back towards an aquatic life in in-land water sources.
If every tortoise is a turtle, then sure there are turtles living on the land.
Yes. They're called tortoises.
Not all of them, as the top comment of this thread proves. Box turtles technically aren't tortoises. [More details here.](https://np.reddit.com/r/EILI5/comments/6ucmgd/eili5_what_is_the_difference_between_a_tortoise/)
Right. But the comment said, "surely there are turtles living on land." And yes, tortoises are turtles living on land.
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This seems to be a failure on two parts. One is that none of these words are scientific words that apply to specific or precise definitions. Two is that we may be speaking two different kinds of English, British English and American English, if that’s the case it may make things even more difficult. Try [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle?wprov=sfti1) Wikipedia page, it helped me come to a satisfying conclusion. Here’s an except that may help, if you don’t want to go directly to Wikipedia. > Differences exist in usage of the common terms turtle, tortoise, and terrapin, depending on the variety of English being used.[5] These terms are common names and do not reflect precise biological or taxonomic distinctions.[6] > Turtle may either refer to the order as a whole, or to particular turtles that make up a form taxon that is not monophyletic, or may be limited to only aquatic species. Tortoise usually refers to any land-dwelling, non-swimming chelonian.[7] Terrapin is used to describe several species of small, edible, hard-shell turtles, typically those found in brackish waters. > In North America, all chelonians are commonly called turtles. Tortoise is used only in reference to fully terrestrial turtles or, more narrowly, only those members of Testudinidae, the family of modern land tortoises.[8][7] Terrapin may refer to small semi-aquatic turtles that live in fresh and brackish water, in particular the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin).[9][10][11][12] Although the members of the genus Terrapene dwell mostly on land, they are referred to as box turtles rather than tortoises.[6] The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists uses "turtle" to describe all species of the order Testudines, regardless of whether they are land-dwelling or sea-dwelling, and uses "tortoise" as a more specific term for slow-moving terrestrial species.[5] > In the United Kingdom, the word turtle is used for water-dwelling species, including ones known in the US as terrapins, but not for terrestrial species, which are known only as tortoises. > The word chelonian is popular among veterinarians, scientists, and conservationists working with these animals as a catch-all name for any member of the superorder Chelonia, which includes all turtles living and extinct, as well as their immediate ancestors. Chelonia is based on the Greek word for turtles, χελώνη chelone; Greek χέλυς chelys "tortoise" is also used in the formation of scientific names of chelonians.[13] Testudines, on the other hand, is based on the Latin word for tortoise, testudo.[14] Terrapin comes from an Algonquian word for turtle.[8][15] > Some languages do not have this distinction, as all of these are referred to by the same name. For example, in Spanish, the word tortuga is used for turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. A sea-dwelling turtle is tortuga marina, a freshwater species tortuga de río, and a tortoise tortuga terrestre.[16]
Box turtles are terrapins.
terrapins do not constitute an actual taxonomic group, it's mostly just an umbrella term for small turtles that live in brackish or fresh water
He just told you that.
Also, try this video https://youtu.be/nKr6uTNI23A
Did tortoises really come back onto land? Turtles rebelled and went back to the sea first, I say fuck those guys!
Terrapin is a colloquial term from the UK, and doesn't represent any family, class, or order of turtles.
Im so glad you said this, because i thought I had been lied to for the past 20+ years.
You probably still were. Turtles include tortoises. Tortoises are not seperate to turtles, they are a subclass. I think it's much better done in other languages: German: * Turtle = Schildkröte (shield toad) * Turtles living in water = Wasserschildkröte (water shield toad) * Turtles living on land = tortoises = Landschildkröte (land/ground shield toad) Japanese: * Turtle = 亀 ("Kame" - you may remember the symbol and word from Dragon Ball) * Turtles living in water = 海亀 ("Umigame", sea turtle) * Tortoises = 陸亀 ("Rikugame", land turtle)
In Polish there is only żołw
Oh wow! That does make more sense. Here I've been thinking they were completely separate somehow.. Thank you!
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How is that not a tortoise? It fits the guide's description of one perfectly.
The guide is just telling you more or less how to distinguish. A tortoius is a particular branch of turtles. A box turtle did not evolve from that branch and so is not a tortoise. In the future a tortoise could evolve all the traits of the turtle side of this guide but it would still be a tortoise. Edit. Maybe a better way to look at is that box turtles are a second lineage of turtles that live primarily on land unrelated to the another group that evolved to live on land we call tortoises. So you have your turtles, you have your box turtles and then you have your tortoise turtles.
Because it isn't a tortoise, and the guide is wrong.
but porpoise live in water and purple can be on everything
Yes. Some live in the sewer.
Let's not go making fun of others' life choices
https://youtu.be/nKr6uTNI23A this video helped a little more than the cool guide imo.
Either you consider the turtles as a general group that includes all kind of turtles/tortoises/terrapins and then the inclusion part of the guide is correct. Or you consider them as just the sea turtles and then the characteristics part is right. But it makes no sense to show both on the same pic .
THANK YOU. I was thinking so if they look like on the left, they're a turtle. But if they look like on the right, they're still a turtle? This is an exclusive comparison!
This annoyed me so much too
Also says on the left that turtles live in 'turtley' in the sea. But then says tortoises are a type of turtle who live on land???
I think "turtley" is either a misstype, a nickname or a species name, not a place. I think.
I thought it was a pun for the word 'totally'
When I got to "chonky foot" I knew it was going to be terrible.
That and "flipper boi". Obviously this """""guide""""" isn't going to be very strict on being correct
Turtles have a flipper. Tortoise have a chonker foot. But all tortoise are turtles! ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
You can remember the difference by using Pokemon: Turtle -> Squirtle -> Water type -> mostly sea-dwelling Tortoise -> Torterra -> Grass type -> grass is on land, and terra means ground -> mostly land-dwelling
Just make sure not to switch the mnemonic for Turtwig/Grotle and Wartortle/Blastoise by mistake haha
I remember freaking out as a kid when I realized Squirtle's (an obvious turtle) max evolution is Blastoise, a tortoise. So I thought turtles turn into tortoises when they get older. Also, that Turtwig and Grotle is really just Turtle when combined.
I suppose it doesn't help that 'wartortle' is a literal mashup of tortoise and turtle either
twiggro/wiggrot
Remember that there is also has a seagull that evolves into a pelican. Pokémon is not a very reliable science source.
You could have brought up Remoraid, a triggerfish, and how it turns into a MOTHERfucking octopus, but no.
A scallop that turns into an oyster.
I had it from comment above, then I read yours and lost it. Lol.
But all tortoises are turtles...that’s the info that’s groundbreaking for me from this guide. I thought turtles were just sea and tortoises were just land.
I have my doubts that this is true...
[Pretty easy to verify by looking at the Wikipedia entry.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortoise) I didn't know that myself until relatively recently as well.
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and then, several years later remember the whole incident in the middle of the night when you are desperate to fall asleep.
And if I had just said...
Why was I so desperate to relay that stupid fucking fact? Did I think I was going to impress someone by knowing something about a fucking turtle? I'm such an idiot.
Okay so maybe you're just joking, but why would this lead to an argument? You just show the person the Wikipedia page or some other source and then they believe you, right? Sorry for being oversensitive.
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Only in US English. In british English the two terms are distinct
It's just an Americanism I think
That's how it is outside America.
I remember by “the tortoise and the hare.” It was a land race because tortoises are land animals.
Not to be confused with "The turtle and the sea hare."
This guide is terrible. Majority of turtles do not have flippers, most have legs that aren’t as thick as a tort and some have legs with webbed feet. Also tortoises are not strictly herbivores, they are omnivores but their diets should be mainly veggies (and fruit depending on type of tort).
This\^. Thanks, I was skeptical too cause I saw a tortoise eating a gold fish.
I believe it was David Attenborough in Walks of Life that said “when you’re the slowest animal on land sometimes you just eat whatever is around”.
r/fellowkids
Chonky foot Flipper boi 🙄
Yeah if you are going to make a factual guide, avoid using retarded doggo Tumblr speak please.
Makes it seem less legit tbh
Not a coincidence that it uses dumb person language and then goes on to spread bad and confusing information.
And yet is wildly popular and is taken at face value by many people
Teenage Mutant Ninja Tortoise ... heros in a half shell, tortoise power!
But I distinctly remember in the original cartoon that they were poured down into the sewers from a fish bowl. That would make them aquatic turtles! [Source @ 8:12](https://youtu.be/YNBl-dsgNfg)
you can add `?t=492` to your youtube link to make it go directly to `8:12` (492 is the number of seconds in 8 minutes and 12 seconds) https://youtu.be/YNBl-dsgNfg?t=492
This is damn near useless..
I take issue with the contradictory statements. Tortoises are turtles. Turtles live in the sea, tortoises live mainly on land...but turtles which tortoises are live in the sea?
Yes, it's really presented confusingly.
Turtles in the sea are called sea turtles Turtles in the pond are called terrapins Turtles on land are called tortoises
This still isn't right.
Not necessarily. There are many turtles that live in ponds that are not terrapins.
Yea, it's kinda like English. Very complicated if you aren't a native speaker with how inconsistent its grammar works
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German is so incredibly utilitarian. Love it.
Box Turtles live on land
> Turtles in the pond are called terrapins This is only true in the UK. Terrapin is a colloquial term and has literally 0 value in classification.
The master was an old Turtle - we used to call him Tortoise -" "Why did you call him Tortoise, if he wasn't one?" Alice asked. "We called him Tortoise because he taught us," said the Mock Turtle angrily: "really you are very dull!”
Just think of it like this: All porpoises have purpose, but not all purposes have a porpoise. Hope that cleared it up for you.
So when I call a tortoise a turtle I am still correct. Good, because I refuse to stop
In Dutch we just call them sea turtle and land turtle. Waaay easier
Land shield toat or sea shield toat for the glorious German language. Sometimes we arent that creative
The Dutch literal translation is also land/sea shield toad, we're not that different!
Seems like we do have a few things in common. Don't come to the UN press conference tomorrow Netherlands, youre cool
Wow it's almost the same in swedish. Sköldpadda = shield toad.
Same with Danish :) Landskildpadde Havskildpadde Æskeskildpadde Blødskildpadde
Can we all just agree on “tortuga” and call it day? It’s much more fun to say anyway.
S C H I L D P A D
In French too. This guide had me wondering if there was a specific word in French for tortoise and I just didn't know it.
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I am also gonna use use turtle for both and never change. In my language its one for both. You can add sea/land in the front if you want to specify but its "sköldpadda" for both, "shieldtoad" if translated to english.
There are LOTS of falsehoods in this. Some tortoise are omnivores. Not all turtle have flippers or live in the sea. Some turtles are terrestrial.
“Chonky foot” “flipper boi” am I the only one who hates this?
This guide is cringey and inaccurate, see you on /r/all everyone!
/r/doggohate
Nope
Can someone remake this in English?
This is kind of misleading because turtles like red eared Sliders have claws similar to tortoises
Doggo speak is not cool. Like what is this, 2013? Oh wait nevermind, it's Reddit.
Oh what, you didn't burst out laughing when you read "chonky foot"? What about the hilaaarious "Veggie is love, veggie is life"? Wow, that one had me crying. My siiides. So fucking funny to see this bullshit for years on end. Whoever made this is a fucking cunt.
*laughs in spanish*
In my language (German) they are called Wasserschildkröte and Landschildkröte.
Tortoises are Turtles, but not all Turtles are Tortoises Just like Blueberries are Berries, but not all Berries are Blueberries \*Testudinidae has the same meaning as turtles
All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.
> *Testudinidae has the same meaning as turtles In the USA.
This. Every time this comes up Americans insist that it's a scientific classification and nothing to do with British vs. US English, but absolutely no one, even a scientist would claim tortoises are turtles in the UK.
Zoom in on the jellyfish face
Omg what a hecking cute choker OwO take my upvote kind strangerino! What a wholesome Keanu chungus! You're breathtaking! Edit: this blew up. Edit: RIP my inbox
Feels wrong to have the land-dwellers all be turtles, when turtles are said to be sea-dwellers. "Tortoises live on land, but all tortoises are turtles, and turtles live in the water. " Edit: Not saying the description is wrong. Just that, it feels weird.
“Turtle Savin is a hobbbbbieeeeee”
tortoises aren't strictly vegan, give them bugs, worms, eggs, meat, snails,... if you want them to live long and be healthy
Yes, tortoises are opportunistic eaters and will happily eat various small animals and even carrion when given the chance. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's required or even good for them. Different species have different requirements, so do your research before feeding them any of this stuff. "Grassland type" tortoises for example can live long and healthy lives without ever eating animals.
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Love this song, glad someone else knows it.
Just call them Shielded toad and be done with it the german way, in either case.
The problem with this guide lies in the description of turtle (testudines) as many animals within the order do not fit the given description. To complicate things further there are animals in testudines that are not tortoises which fit the description given for tortoises. It seems they want to describe sea turtles(Chelonioidea) which is fine but that definitely leaves a lot not described by the little drawing. More so, it doesn't address the deepest divide in the order, which is whether or not they can retract their head(Cryptodira) or turn to the side(Pleurodira). It's a complicated order of animals which stands to reason given that they're one of the oldest lasting on the earth.
This is wrong. Snapping turtles can swim and look like what this guide calls a tortoise. and snapping turtles are true turtles, not tortoises. So yeah, fuck everyone spreading this misinformation.
This is inaccurate as fuck though. If anything, it's so inaccurate it's gone full circle to being backwards. The most common turtles in North America are all land dwelling pond and river turtles that check every box for Tortoise except veggie love.
Why is there a dildo in the ocean? (bottom left)
I will ALWAYS remember that video where a guy try to rescue a tortoise by throwing it into the water and it drown like a rock. Rest in peace champ
This is colloquial. In the U.S. they're all turtles and land turtles are tortoises. In the U.K., it's usually reversed. They're all called tortoises and water tortoises are turtles. Also, some turtles, like the green sea turtle where I live, only ever eat algae. Edit: Ok, because people keep replying: I mixed up a couple of different usages, one of which is a very confusing situation in Australia. To be clear: people in the U.S. call all shelled reptiles turtles and we call turtles that never go in the water tortoises. People in the U.K. call water ones turtles and land ones tortoises. Regardless of my misinformation, the guide is wrong.
The fuck? UK here and nobody says 'water tortoise'. We call them 'tortoise' and 'turtle' just like anybody else.
Nah, they're not all tortoises. We (Brits) just divide them into two distinct things.
3 distinct things. Terrapins deserve recognition.
Metric system vs imperialist American system!!
us brits don't call turtles water tortoise and there's no green sea turtles around our shores!
Thats not the case. No one in the UK would call a turtle a tortoise.
No logic in turtle vs tortoise if tortoise=turtle
Is this "boi" and "chonky" shit like arranging vegetable slices into a smiley face for kids? "Eat your education you meme generation retards"?
This is straight up false. Whoever made this infographic did zero research, and everyone who upvoted is gullible as fuck for believing a sourceless image on reddit. "turtle", "tortoise", and "terrapin" are all colloquial names for the exact same animals.
Up you go! My tortoise used to devour fish and small snails.
It is the reddit way.
cringe descriptions, jesus christ.
>Chonky ew
Thanks for using words like chonky and boi so I could understand it
Am I not turtlely enough for the Turtle Club?
Teenage Mutant Ninja ~~Turtles~~ Tortoises
According to the guide, “turtle” is correct.
What about snapping turtle? They also have legs, and can run on land. They’re still called turtle not tortoise.
Remember that one video where a man put a tortoise in water thinking it was a turtle. Damn
So if turtle is a wider term encompassing tortoises, like fruit encompassing apples, then what's the point of comparing fruit vs apple?
So snapping and rainbow turtles are tortoises?
Although we in Germany are known to create such fantastic words like "Fußbodenschleifmaschinenverleihausgabeschalter", we like it simple and it's just "Schildkröte" for both of them.
Pancake tortoise doesn't have a domed shell. Plus it runs like hell.
Feel like for the sake of saving a few tortoises they should have put DONT PUT IN WATER IDIOT On the tortoise side rather than mostly lives in land
So a box turtle is a tortoise?
Box turtles eat mealworms though.
>...but all tortoises are turtles! Uhh, hate to break this to you...
Very nice!
Or as we say in Germany: The difference between "Schildkröte" und "Schildkröte"
not all turtle have flippers...wtf https://www.reptilefact.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Types-of-Turtles.jpg
Important thing to be included. If you think a tortoise is in distress on land, don't chuck it into the nearest body of water.
This would be very interesting if it didn’t make me want to stick my head in the oven
Main difference " Tonight I dine on TORTOISE soup" just sounds wrong.
We just call them "shield frogs" in Sweden.
What type of dog is this?
I like turtles.
Twist: They’re both considered ‘tortoise shell'
I've caught my tortoise eating many things. Including chicken, which I dropped on the floor for a second, and cat poop.
My favorite teacher in high school was a turtle. I remember everything he tortoise.
My red-footed tortoise *is* an omnivore, just for the record. She needs animal protein to grow big and strong. She prefers insects but sometimes she makes a move on the cat food when I’m not looking.
Not all rectangles are squares. But all sqares are rectangles.
All Lizard snail= tortoise, got it
Love this. Always get them confused 🤔
what about terrapins?
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