At a first glance turtles and tortoises seem to be almost one and the same. And this brings up a very simple but very complex question. Can turtles and tortoises mate?
Turtles and tortoises can mate with each other, but they cannot produce viable offspring due to genetic incompatibility. In the case of a successful crossbreed, the offspring will suffer from severe health problems and will be sterile.
So, physically it’s possible to happen, and there is even a very small chance that an offspring will be born. But realistically the chances of this happening are so small that they are basically zero. This can seem kind of strange considering that turtles and tortoises seem to be the exact same thing, so let’s see why that is.
Why Turtles and Tortoises Can Not Mate Successfully
Despite all the similarities turtles and tortoises are two distinct species, and while not easy to spot with the naked eye, there are a lot of differences between the two of them to make them incompatible.
Basically, turtles and tortoises are not the same species, and a crossbreed between the two of them is like trying to crossbreed a cat with a tiger. While this might seem like an exaggeration it’s not. So let’s take a look at how species and subspecies work.
Here is a simple graph that shows how animals are classified:
Now let’s fully classify two turtle species and two tortoises species, and see how different they really are, and then we will also look at a cat and a tiger, and you will see that the two of them are actually closer, despite their looks.
| Red-Eared Slider | Pond Turtle | Russian Tortoise | Leopard Tortoise | |
| Kingdom | Animalia | Animalia | Animalia | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata | Chordata | Chordata | Chordata |
| Class | Reptilia | Reptilia | Reptilia | Reptilia |
| Order | Testudines | Testudines | Testudines | Testudines |
| Family | Emydidae | Emydidae | Testudinidae | Testudinidae |
| Genus | Trachemys | Actinemys | Testudo | Stigmochelys |
| Species | T. scripta | A. marmorata | T. horsfieldii | S. pardalis |
As you can see the similarities stop at family, which is not far off from the place where most animals start to split into completely different animals, let’s take a look at a cat and a tiger since the differences are more clear in their case.
| Cat | Tiger | |
| Kingdom | Animalia | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia | Mammalia |
| Order | Carnivora | Carnivora |
| Family | Felidae | Felidae |
| Subfamily | Felinae | Pantherinae |
| Genus | Felis | Panthera |
| Species | F. catus | P. tigris |
So despite their looks, cats and tigers are a little bit more related than turtles and tortoises.
When it comes to mating, the highest chance of successfully taking place is when all participants are of the same species. Successful mating can also take place between members of the same genus, but the chances are very low, and the offspring won’t be able to reproduce.
And the higher you go in the classification order, the lower the chances of happening are.
Now, the classifications are not given randomly and based on how they are assigned animals can or can’t produce offspring, it’s based on the differences between animals.
Differences Between Turtles and Tortoises
There are numerous differences between turtles and tortoises. And the most significant ones, that will stop them from mating are on the inside and are mostly related to how their lungs, digestive system, and reproductive organs work. Those differences are impossible to spot when looking at them. But there are other differences that are very easy to spot, and also play an important role in why the two of them can’t mate.
One of the biggest and most significant differences between a turtle and a tortoise is their feet
Tortoises have stumpy feet that allow them to easily traverse rough terrain. On the other hand, turtles have long fingers that are connected by a webbing, which allows them to move faster in the water.
The huge difference between their feet is due to the environments in which they live. Tortoises can be found in some of the harshest places in the world, ranging from deserts to tundras and near mountains, as well as plains. And in order to be able to traverse all those different types of terrains, they need to have a solid footing, hence their stumpy feet.
Turtles will always be found near big bodies of water, whether we are talking about ponds, lakes, or rivers, in which they usually live. Turtles need oxygen in order to survive, they can’t stay underwater forever, but they usually spend as much time as they can in water. So they need feet that will allow them to move faster underwater.
Another easy-to-spot difference between the two of them is one of the things that makes them seem so similar, and that is the shell.
Turtle shells and tortoise shells have the same main function, to protect their wearer. But The way they do this is different between turtles and tortoises.
One main difference is the shape of the shell. Tortoise shells tend to have a more dome-like shape, while turtles have a flatter shell.
The flatter shell of the turtle allows it to be more hydrodynamic, thus moving faster underwater, which allows the turtle to escape potential predators, and catch fish when it’s hungry.
The rounder shell of the tortoises is better at withstanding hits from predators, and it’s harder to grab by potential predators, like eagles and other birds.
Another big difference when it comes to the shell is that the shell of the turtle has an extra protection layer that tortoises don’t have. This layer is made out of scutes, which are small transparent plates made out of keratin (the same thing that our nails are made out of). Those plates will fall off and grow back periodically, and they do this in order to protect the shell from potential infections and small scratches.
There are quite a few more differences between turtles and tortoises, but most of them I’ve already covered in my article: Turtle vs Tortoise – What’s the Difference? (With Pictures), so if you want to know what they are you should check out the article.
Final Thoughts
So, turtles can tortoises can mate, but the chances of them making an offspring are very very low, and in case it would happen, the offspring doesn’t have a high chance of surviving, mostly due to possible health problems. But there is also the chance that the offspring won’t be properly equipped to survive in the environment where it’s born.
But in the eventuality that the offspring survives long enough to reach maturity, it still wouldn’t be able to reproduce, since all known offspring of two different species have been born sterile.
One last thing that I would like to add is that new species are not born due to crossbreeding, they are born because of evolution. In the case of turtles, and tortoises, the original species from which they evolved, some of their members decided to stay on land, while others thought it would be better for them to go in the water (this is an oversimplification), and over millions of years, those two groups of the same species evolved in such a way that would benefit them the most in their respective environments. At this point, they basically became two different species.
While an oversimplification, is how new species are usually born, not through crossbreeding.
I hope this article answered all of your questions about turtles and tortoises, but in case there is anything else that you would like to know, don’t hesitate to leave a question in the comment section below. I regularly check for questions and answer each and every one of them.
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