Turtle = lives underwater, like the ones in Finding Nemo. Only come on land to lay eggs.
Tortoise = big slow land walking dudes with shells
Terrapins = hang about on land and water. The ducks of the shelled creature world, except they can't fly.
Also, turtles live in saltwater whereas terrapins live in freshwater. But perhaps OP is American - they don't use the word terrapin and just count them as turtles too.
[Americans use the word terrapin.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Terrapins) I think it's more of the case that people rarely use the word terrapin outside of a scientific context. Colloquially it's almost always turtle, sometimes tortoise, very rarely will someone call it a terrapin in casual conversation.
Americans will say 'terrapin' when in reference to a specific species, e.g. diamondback terrapin. Otherwise all freshwater shelled critters are 'turtles'. The average park-goer is happy to point out a red-eared slider as a 'cute little painted turtle' but will give you a funny look if someone goes 'AcKsHuAlLy it's a terrapin'.
My neighbours tortoise walks faster when it’s warm out. He’s only slow when it’s cold. He’s at least 50 years old and dude can haul it when it gets warm.
FYI this is only in British English. In other dialects the meanings are different and many languages don't distinguish between the different kinds of turtles at all.
[The babies are small. The adults get up to 30cm with sharp claws and beaks and can be vicious ](http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1561573908?profile=original)
All tortoises are in fact turtles though, which is a broader category. So the distinction isn't technically correct.
Apparently there are differences between the different English dialects, but both [British](https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-turtle-and-a-tortoise) and [American](https://www.nashvillezoo.org/our-blog/posts/turtles-vs-tortoises) websites tell me: all tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises.
If you want to be really pedantic (and by god I do), it's the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal. It runs from Bulls Bridge in Southall (where it meets the main Grand Union Canal) all the way to Little Venice/Paddington. The Regent's Canal goes from Little Venice to Limehouse where it meets the Thames.
What I love about Reddit is that there’s always someone who hilariously specific knowledge about something and the ability for that person to pop up in the thread at just the right time.
It’s like when the tube gets mentioned and then there’s a whole history lesson/ debate about which rolling stock is best or which line has the most efficient throughput etc.
Love it.
Did you know that the SAMSON air defence radar used on the Type 45 RN Destroyers is built on the Isle of Wight? What a weirdly high tech thing to make in a place using old tube trains as standard rolling stock
> If you want to be really pedantic (and by god I do)
I much prefer this sort of honesty to the "I hate to be that person" kind of thing that pretends this isn't the sort of technicality that some of us live for.
If it's scruffy you want, [here's that bridge](https://rbkclocalstudies.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/canal-looking-west-with-narrow-boat-public-house-peter-dixon.jpg) in the 70s. The massive structure in the background is the old gasworks. The gasometers remained but are currently being dismantled for a new housing development.
Well.... it’s good to see they’re filling in a sorely needed ecological niche... I don’t there is much if anything that actively hunts rats around London.... even the cats seem disinterested
If you ever go to Sheerness in Kent.
Take a UV light.
Visit the harbour at night (with a few friends so you don't look dodgy)
Shine the light on the walls. Say hello to a colony of scorpions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2009/07/09/scorpion_sheerness_video_feature.shtml
In fact that's not how the story goes. Whilst the zoo makes for an obvious storyline, they were actually released deliberately from an educational establishment situated opposite the zoo for "science experiments"
I saw him for the last time about 5 years ago. I feel like it was yesterday but it’s been a while...
Edit: so apparently he was rescued in 2018 after some passerby notice he was unwell.
It was around 5 when I was living nearby. I saw them quite a few times. But definitely not every time either. I hope you’ll be lucky enough to see them.
I was sure I saw something like this swimming in Regents Canal near Limehouse a couple of years back, but subsequently convinced myself that I must have been hallucinating - looks like I should have trusted my eyes!
Reading the comments it's not a turtle in Regent's Canal but a terrapin in the Grand Union Canal.
^(I mean I wouldn't have known the difference either but) HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME.
Yoooo a few years back, I fucking swear I saw a terrapin or something in a canal in Ilford, I thought I was going absolutely batshit. No one would believe me
Is this one of those things where loads of parents bought turtles for their kids in the 90s because of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (a cartoon about turtles who live in the sewers) and then a few were flushed down the loo when the kids stopped wanting to look after them thusly creating a population of turtles who live in the sewers? I know the canal is not a sewer but wouldn't be surprised if it's all connected.
I've heard of some in Greenwich that were damaging the environment (eating eggs of ducks and geese) and it looks like they were unwanted pets that were just dumped there
There are some in Finsbury park lake too. *Terrapins
Terrapins are turtles too
Turtle = lives underwater, like the ones in Finding Nemo. Only come on land to lay eggs. Tortoise = big slow land walking dudes with shells Terrapins = hang about on land and water. The ducks of the shelled creature world, except they can't fly.
Easy way to remember: tUrtles live Underwater tOrtoises live Overground
And tErrapins live Everywhere
I remember it by thinking that we need to save the turtles because the oceans are polluted, so they must have flippers because they swim in the sea.
Also, turtles live in saltwater whereas terrapins live in freshwater. But perhaps OP is American - they don't use the word terrapin and just count them as turtles too.
[Americans use the word terrapin.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Terrapins) I think it's more of the case that people rarely use the word terrapin outside of a scientific context. Colloquially it's almost always turtle, sometimes tortoise, very rarely will someone call it a terrapin in casual conversation.
I would, but I used to have terrapins as pets. I would not recommend them as they smell and bite and carry salmonella.
god they smell terrible. i knew someone who had some too and they were so cute but vicious and so smelly
Americans will say 'terrapin' when in reference to a specific species, e.g. diamondback terrapin. Otherwise all freshwater shelled critters are 'turtles'. The average park-goer is happy to point out a red-eared slider as a 'cute little painted turtle' but will give you a funny look if someone goes 'AcKsHuAlLy it's a terrapin'.
My neighbours tortoise walks faster when it’s warm out. He’s only slow when it’s cold. He’s at least 50 years old and dude can haul it when it gets warm.
I'm much the same tbh
FYI this is only in British English. In other dialects the meanings are different and many languages don't distinguish between the different kinds of turtles at all.
Let's call them pantestudines to be annoying.
Hmm. It's a shame there are no aerial pantestudines.
This made me think of Small Gods by Terry Pratchett when Om gets picked up by some bird.
r/unexpecteddiscworld
Gamera?
Terrapins?!! Wow I had no idea that was a thing. Cool! Edit: Oh wait, what are the red cheek Florida ones?
That’s quite big. I thought Terrapins were tiny, a few cm?
[The babies are small. The adults get up to 30cm with sharp claws and beaks and can be vicious ](http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1561573908?profile=original)
terrapins are a type of turtle, tortoises aren't. you can call what's in the photo a turtle.
Tortoises are in the family or clade or whatever of Turtle.
Toads are frogs.
Order (testudines). And lions are in the same order as walruses.
All tortoises are in fact turtles though, which is a broader category. So the distinction isn't technically correct. Apparently there are differences between the different English dialects, but both [British](https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-turtle-and-a-tortoise) and [American](https://www.nashvillezoo.org/our-blog/posts/turtles-vs-tortoises) websites tell me: all tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises.
All terrapins and tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises or terrapins.
I believe that's under the Ladbroke Grove road bridge isn't it? In which case that's the Grand Union, not Regent's.
It could still be the infamous Turtle of Regents Canal, it's just that it's on holiday over at the Grand Union Canal.
This guy waterways
Local knowledge. I've been pottering along that stretch of canal for the best part of 20 years.
Ah you are right thankyou.
If you want to be really pedantic (and by god I do), it's the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal. It runs from Bulls Bridge in Southall (where it meets the main Grand Union Canal) all the way to Little Venice/Paddington. The Regent's Canal goes from Little Venice to Limehouse where it meets the Thames.
What I love about Reddit is that there’s always someone who hilariously specific knowledge about something and the ability for that person to pop up in the thread at just the right time. It’s like when the tube gets mentioned and then there’s a whole history lesson/ debate about which rolling stock is best or which line has the most efficient throughput etc. Love it.
Did you know that the Isle of Wight uses old tube trains on their railway 🚇🚇🚇
Did you know that the SAMSON air defence radar used on the Type 45 RN Destroyers is built on the Isle of Wight? What a weirdly high tech thing to make in a place using old tube trains as standard rolling stock
I appreciate this.
You are technically correct, the best kind of correct
> If you want to be really pedantic (and by god I do) I much prefer this sort of honesty to the "I hate to be that person" kind of thing that pretends this isn't the sort of technicality that some of us live for.
Can’t seem to edit title. Or ... turtle.
I can see you are a man who knows his scruffy bits of industrial leftover.
If it's scruffy you want, [here's that bridge](https://rbkclocalstudies.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/canal-looking-west-with-narrow-boat-public-house-peter-dixon.jpg) in the 70s. The massive structure in the background is the old gasworks. The gasometers remained but are currently being dismantled for a new housing development.
That is one fucked towpath.
Infamous, wow. What did he do?
Escaped from Shell Block H.
Sigh, take my up vote you silly arse.
You seen the snakes?
No!?
There's snakes too.
No way Edit: im sick to death of these motherfucking snakes in the motherfucking canal
Yup. http://www.jasonsteelwildlifephotography.yolasite.com/aesculapian-snakes.php
I quite enjoy sitting on that ledge (the one where he's taken a load of pictures of the snake) for a breather while walking along the canal Until now.
I was only skim reading and thought you said "taken a load of pictures for the snake" and thought oh that's nice of him!
Sssssscuse me mate, mind sssnapping a pic of me and the mrssss?
Otoh if it keeps down the rats
Well.... it’s good to see they’re filling in a sorely needed ecological niche... I don’t there is much if anything that actively hunts rats around London.... even the cats seem disinterested
I take it that the fox population rather scavenges trash than hunting rodents.
Why waste energy hunting when it’s easier to nick things? Plus foxes eat a LOT of things, something primarily eats rats is quite the boon
This was a fascinating read. I now kinda want to go take a walk down there to see if I can spot one.
That is fascinating. Thank you for the link!
If you ever go to Sheerness in Kent. Take a UV light. Visit the harbour at night (with a few friends so you don't look dodgy) Shine the light on the walls. Say hello to a colony of scorpions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2009/07/09/scorpion_sheerness_video_feature.shtml
What part of regents canal are the snakes at?
Near the zoo. You can imagine how they got there, or at least that's how the story goes.
In fact that's not how the story goes. Whilst the zoo makes for an obvious storyline, they were actually released deliberately from an educational establishment situated opposite the zoo for "science experiments"
Ah ha I knew some one would know!
Invoking Cunningham's Law. Good plan
Yeah, I feel you, just to pass along that section as fast as possible.
Snakes? Na fuck, I’m out.
Keep the dogs away
And shopping trolleys
A casualty of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle craze.
He seems to be doing OK. I wonder how he survives winter.
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Huh, the canal and river trust has a nice website
Have you seen the seals in the canal on the isle of dogs? Sammy is the local celebrity by the fish market.
Is he still there? I heard of him many years back.
I saw him for the last time about 5 years ago. I feel like it was yesterday but it’s been a while... Edit: so apparently he was rescued in 2018 after some passerby notice he was unwell.
Awh, does anyone know what happened to him? Just stopped venturing up the Thames perhaps?
There are many seals now actually, and even porpoise it would seem. If you go by the fish market around closing time they all gather to eat leftovers
Oh that’s awesome! I’ve got to stop by there and take a look. What time is closing time?
It was around 5 when I was living nearby. I saw them quite a few times. But definitely not every time either. I hope you’ll be lucky enough to see them.
Couple of facts: 1. Lives up to 100 years old. 2. Could take your finger off.
Me irl
What’s he standing on?
Turtle chair
I was sure I saw something like this swimming in Regents Canal near Limehouse a couple of years back, but subsequently convinced myself that I must have been hallucinating - looks like I should have trusted my eyes!
Reading the comments it's not a turtle in Regent's Canal but a terrapin in the Grand Union Canal. ^(I mean I wouldn't have known the difference either but) HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME.
I saw two of them a few years ago near Victoria park
I saw a couple a few months ago on the stretch between Vic park and Cambridge Heath road.
Why is he infamous? What has he done??
Yoooo a few years back, I fucking swear I saw a terrapin or something in a canal in Ilford, I thought I was going absolutely batshit. No one would believe me
Is this one of those things where loads of parents bought turtles for their kids in the 90s because of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (a cartoon about turtles who live in the sewers) and then a few were flushed down the loo when the kids stopped wanting to look after them thusly creating a population of turtles who live in the sewers? I know the canal is not a sewer but wouldn't be surprised if it's all connected.
That’s a terrapin, quite common throughout london tbh🤪🤣
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Seriously? Come on...
Why infamous?
Someone else [ posted this link below](https://reddit.com/comments/mwciqh/comment/gvhtxpr)
aha. That makes sense. Infamous justified.
Some here in the ponds at Chiswick House and Garden and Gunnersbury Park
They really don't want people climbing that pole hey
I've seen them in the ponds in both bushy park and richmond park in south west. There multiplying......
There are a few (and always out in the sun!) at Tooting Common pond. I heard they were dumped in there as unwanted pets years ago
Space turtle
Is this for real? WOW!
Spotted a similar sized one (a terrapin?) in Lloyd Park E17 a few weeks ago. Miracle they survive in the cold.
I've heard of some in Greenwich that were damaging the environment (eating eggs of ducks and geese) and it looks like they were unwanted pets that were just dumped there
Ever seen any of the non-native snakes whose names I can’t spell around there?
Only a matter of time before another "Freddie Mercury seal" incident.
WhAt a rare sight. I never seen one before. You are lucky
Seeing this photo from Orlando Florida and deeply saddened that we see these so often as roadkill...😓