Look Out for Turtles!

Look Out for Turtles!

Most land turtles move very, v-e-r-y slowly. Suppose you ran a one. mile race with a turtle. You would cross the finish line in about ten or fifteen minutes. The turtle would get there about five hours later!

But did you know that some turtles can move very fast?These turtles live in the ocean. They have flippers instead of legs. Some sea turtles can swim a mile in less than three minutes. The very fastest human swimmer takes five minutes to swim a mile.

Turtles-on land and in the sea-are among the oldest living creatures in the world. They have been on earth for nearly 200 million years! Turtles were here at the time of the mighty dinosaurs. And they are still here today. Why have turtle survived so long?

Many turtles have hard shells. The shell is the turtle's house. It is also its shield. The hard shell protects the turtle from its enemies. When danger is near, most land turtles hide inside their shells. They pull in their heads, tails, and all four legs. Now the turtle is safe from harm.

The turtle's shell has two main parts. The top part is called the carapace. The bottom is the plastron. The carapace and plastron are joined by a bridge. The bridge has openings for the head, tail, and legs.