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Turtle skulls vary in shape, from the long and narrow skulls of softshells to the broad and flattened skull of the mata mata. [25] Some turtle species have developed large and thick heads, allowing for greater muscle mass and stronger bites. [26] Turtles that are carnivorous or durophagous (eating hard-shelled animals) have the most powerful bites.
Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, [3] are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira.The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and olive ridley.
Turtles have been classified in different ways by different authors. While they were previously considered anapsids , they are now considered more derived. [ 1 ] Recent analyses of molecular evidence have strongly suggested that they belong in the clade Archosauromorpha (also known as Archelosauria). [ 2 ]
General American usage agrees; turtle is often a general term; tortoise is used only in reference to terrestrial turtles or, more narrowly, only those members of Testudinidae, the family of modern land tortoises; and terrapin may refer to turtles that are small and live in fresh and brackish water, in particular the diamondback terrapin ...
Sea turtles are largely solitary animals, though some do form large, though often loosely connected groups during nesting season. Although only seven turtle species are truly marine, many more dwell in brackish waters. [1] [6] Sea snakes: the most abundant of the marine reptiles, there are over 60 different species of sea snakes.
Genus Caretta - loggerhead sea turtle; Genus Chelonia - green sea turtle; Genus Eretmochelys - hawksbill sea turtle; Genus Lepidochelys - ridley sea turtle; Genus Natator - flatback sea turtle; Family Dermochelyidae [6] Genus Dermochelys - leatherback sea turtle; Superfamily Kinosternoidea. Family Dermatemydidae [6] Genus Dermatemys - Central ...
Archelosauria is a clade grouping turtles and archosaurs (birds and crocodilians) and their fossil relatives, to the exclusion of lepidosaurs (the clade containing lizards, snakes and the tuatara). The majority of phylogenetic analyses based on molecular data (e.g. DNA and proteins) have supported a sister-group relationship between turtles and ...
Pond turtles, terrapins, and sliders: Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) Geoemydidae Theobald, 1868: 24: Asian leaf turtles, roofed turtles, and Asian box turtles: Amboina box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) Kinosternidae Agassiz, 1857: 4: Mud and musk turtles: Common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) Platysternidae Gray, 1869 : 1: Big ...