Turtle

A turtle is a reptile of which most of the body is shielded by a shell. Turtles are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Chelonia.

Turtles live in most tropical or temperate zones, but also in the oceans. The size of turtles can differ from a few centimetres to up to two 2 m. Turtles generally live long, some animals are known to have lived longer than 150 years.

The first turtles already existed in the era of the dinosaurs, some 200 million years ago.