No, turtles aren’t amphibians . Turtles belong to the most ancient order of animals – reptiles (reptiles). Obviously, nature has created a very practical form. Turtles have existed for many thousands of years changing little, and now look almost the same as in those days when they were in abundance wandering among dinosaurs. But in recent centuries, the number of some species has reached a critical level.
Thousands of sea turtles were processed into turtle soup, the turtles of the Galapagos archipelago were almost completely destroyed, which the seafarers took with them as “live canned food”, because the turtles are very hardy and can go without food and water for a long time. Coming to their senses, mankind began to protect the turtles, and some of them were listed in the International Red Book.
The turtle troop includes many species, and they can be found in salty and fresh water, in forests, in the open sea and even on dry land, closer to deserts. In sea turtles due to the constant life in the water, the legs turned into fins.
Freshwater turtles have a flattened streamlined shell, legs with long sharp claws for tearing up prey, and between the fingers their eardrums were formed. Tortoises are usually of a strong constitution, their thick legs have short, blunt claws. Some aquatic turtles once again began to live on land, but do not break the connection with water.
