What are Some Types of Turtles?
There are many different types of turtles on Earth, ranging from small turtles that make ideal pets, to larger turtles unsuited for captivity. There are also tortoises, which are types of turtles adapted specially to live on land, rather than in the water. Turtles are one of the oldest groups of reptiles on the planet, with ancestors who lived more than 215 million years ago, making them even older than snakes or lizards. With over 300 species crossing fourteen surviving families, there are turtles on every continent on Earth except Antarctica, and they have been a part of human myth and culture for millennia. There are three suborders of turtles, of which only two have living representatives. One of these, Cryptodira, contains most of the types of turtles known to people, including all tortoises and marine turtles. The other order, Pleurodira, contains the types of turtles known as side-necked turtles, a group of freshwater turtles that bring their heads into their shells in a distinc
