Turtle, Tortoise, Terrapin

Have you ever wondered, whats the difference between a turtle, tortoise, or terrapin? Below are the terms, take a look!

By definition these are:

Turtle: Any of various aquatic and land reptiles having a bony shell and flipper-like limbs for swimming

When someone says turtle, this generally means a Water Turtle.

Tortoise: Usually herbivorous land turtles having clawed elephant-like limbs

Terrapin: Any of various North American aquatic turtles of the family Emydiolae, especially the genus Malaclemys, which includes the diamondback terrapin.

As you can see, these terms are a bit different but in general people seem to use them interchangeably. Interested in more terms? Check out the Turtle Terms!