Whats the difference between a turtle and tortoise?

Answer 1

Differences between turtles and tortoises include:

• Turtles primarily live in water (fresh water and oceans) and so have webbed front feet or flipper-like fins to make swimming easier.
• Tortoises live almost exclusively on land, so do not have flippers, but normal feet without webbing, often with sharp claws for digging. They only enter water to drink or wash themselves off, and can in fact drown in strong currents. They may be found in arid areas.
• Turtles tend to have flatter shells than tortoises, while tortoises have a more domed shell.
• Turtles can be omnivorous, eating both plants and insects; tortoises eat only plants and leaves and other vegetation, so they are herbivorous, especially preferring moisture-bearing vegtation.
• Turtles can migrate from one place to another, swimming mighty oceans; tortoises tend to stay in one area.
• Baby tortoises move from their nest to their mother's burrow very soon after hatching. Turtles stay in the original nest for 90-100 days.
• Tortoises have a much longer life span (80-150 years) than turtles (20-40 years)

Answer 2

A division of reptiles, called chelonians, includes turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. For the most part, the difference between a turtle and tortoise is more of a rough semantic category than a strict taxonomic separation. Colloquially, both biologists and lay people use the word, "turtle" to mean all chelonians. In general, turtles live in or near the water and have adapted to swim by holding their breath underwater. Tortoises live primarily in arid regions, built for storing their own water supply and walking on sandy ground.

In a biological respect, a tortoise is a kind of a turtle, but not all turtles are tortoises. Tortoises occupy their own taxonomic family, called testudinidae. All types of land and aquatic turtles come in a wide range of sizes, colors, and shapes. Sometimes the name "terrapin" refers to those animals that fall somewhere between a turtle and tortoise, because they live in swampy areas or begin life underwater and eventually move to dry land.