Turtles

Turtles by Valeria R.

Turtles have lived on plant Earth ever since the time of the dinosaurs. In fact,the turtles ancestors were a species of aquatic dinosaurs. It was called the Henodus. The Henodus was about 3 feet in length. Its head had a strange box-like shape. Turtles are divided into a few groups. First, there is the desert turtles or, tortoises. They have a lot of curve on their shell. They do not swim, but they do drink water. All turtles have beaks, just like birds, except turtle beaks are a lot shorter. Most turtles can streach their necks, but Sea turtles can't. Sea turtles, unlike other turtles, have flippers, not legs and feet. The largest modern day sea turtle is the Loggerhead sea turtle. Another way sea turtles are different than other turtles is that they can't tuck into teir shells to sleep. Instead, they float! The last group of turtles is the fresh-water turtles. This includes turtles such as the wood turtles, painted turtles, red-eared sliders, and snapping turtles. Red-eared sliders can be agressive towards people and other turtles.That means they will bite and scratch if you pick them up or expose yourself. Red-eared sliders have red markings around their ears. Turtles don't have ears but, they can hear. Another thing all turtles have in common is that they all have shells. They are not all the same though.