What is the Difference Between Turtles, Tortoises and Terrapins? ( with Pictures )

There are turtles, tortoises, and even terrapins, and all of them look almost the same. It can be quite hard to know the difference between those three, at least for me it was. So I decided to do some research to find out what are the differences between turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. Here is what I found out.

Turtle is the generic term used for all the chelonians. Tortoises are placed in a single taxonomic family and live mostly in arid habitats, like deserts. Terrapins are one of several species of turtles.

So basically every reptile that has a shell is a turtle, no matter if it lives in a desert, a sea, a swamp, an ocean, or a river, it’s called a turtle. But turtle is the broad term. Some turtles have certain characteristics that put them in a certain class of turtles called tortoises. And some turtles are in another class called terrapins. It can seem confusing at first, but I am going to explain the characteristic of each one of them and the differences between them.

What is a Turtle

A turtle is a reptile that has a shell, four legs, a tail, they all lack teeth and they lay shelled eggs. At the moment there are around 320 living species of turtles.

They are also part of the Chelonii order ( also known as Testudines ), this is why you can hear the people referring to them as chelonians.

They are reptiles so they are cold-blooded, which means that their body temperature varies based on the temperature of the surrounding area.

Turtle species are very ecologically and geographically diverse. They can be found on all major landmasses and oceans. The only places that they can’t be found are the very cold ones. This is why Antarctica is the only continent where turtles can’t be found.

As I said every reptile with a shell is a turtle, they can have characteristics that can put them in a larger turtle group but all of them will have the characteristics I just mentioned.

What is a Tortoise

A tortoise is a turtle that lives in arid habitats like deserts, and sometimes islands ( like the Galapagos tortoise ).

One of the distinctive features of a tortoise is that they have feet that look very similar to those of the elephants.

Another thing that characterizes tortoises is the pattern of their shell. The pattern on their shell looks more like the design on the World War II US Army helmet. Another good example is the pattern of the shell of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Fun Fact: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are tortoises, so technically they are still turtles but if you want to be exact you can call them Teenage Mutant Ninja Tortoises.

So the main thing that you should obtain from this is that tortoises live in dryer lands and have squarer patterns on their shells.

What is a Terrapin

The terrapin group basically makes no sense, it’s a group made for no reason. The only thing that these turtles have in common is that they live in water, but there are also a lot of turtles that live in water that are not in this group.

The word terrapin was first used by the Algonquin tribe of North America to describe an “edible turtle”. The tribe used the name to describe the diamondback terrapins and other freshwater species they consumed for food. So they probably have in common the fact that they are edible, but that doesn’t really help anybody who wants to know if a turtle is a terrapin or not.

Some people might try to find similar things about the members of the terrapins like the form of their legs or the parents but they are not consistent enough among them to be considered a characteristic of the terrapins.

There are only 13 terrapin turtles so there is no reason to try to find possible similarities between them because there aren’t any no matter how hard you try.

One notable fact about terrapins is that they don’t live in Australia and South America.

At the end of this article, you will find a list that contains all the terrapin species.

Differences Between Turtle and Tortoise

So now that you know a couple of things about all three classifications of turtles let’s talk about how to tell if a turtle is a tortoise or just a simple turtle.

One of the best ways to tell if it’s a tortoise or just a turtle is by looking at its feet when they are walking. Tortoises walk on their toes. Turtles will use their entire feet to walk. This is one of the best ways to tell the difference between a turtle and a tortoise.

Another way to tell the difference is to look at their heads. This can be a little harder because you have to be close enough to get a clear view, but far enough so you don’t scare the turtle ( or tortoise ). A tortoise will have a short and oval head compared to the slightly elongated head of a turtle.

Another difference between turtles and tortoises is that tortoises have bigger and rounder shells. This is because they don’t swim in water and they need extra protection from predators. While turtles that are not tortoises and spend a lot of time in water swimming need a shape that allows them to swim more efficiently.

Those are the three most efficient ways to tell the difference between a turtle and a tortoise. If you can see one of those three things in a turtle you will be able to tell if it’s a turtle or a tortoise.

List of Terrapins

• Bengal eyed terrapin
• Diamondback terrapin
• European pond terrapin or European pond turtle
• Indian pond terrapin
• Mexican spotted terrapin or Mexican spotted wood turtle
• Northern river terrapin
• Painted terrapin
• Red-eared terrapin
• Serrated hinged terrapin
• Seychelles black terrapin
• Smiling terrapin or black marsh turtle
• Southern river terrapin
• Striped-neck terrapin or Caspian turtle

Conclusion

I hope this article helped you to better understand the differences between a turtle and a tortoise. The terrapins are not very well characterized so it’s nearly impossible to determine if a turtle is a terrapin or not.

If you have any questions about tortoises, terrapins, or turtles in general you should leave them in the comment section and I will answer them as soon as possible.

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