18 Weird and Wonderful Turtle and Tortoise Species

Turtles and tortoises are known for their slow pace, agreeable faces, and shells. They are distributed across every continent except Antarctica, from South Asia to Canada, and there are approximately 356 species of turtles, including 49 species of tortoises (i.e., turtles that live on land as well as water and have more rounded, domed shells). Although many turtle species look similar, they differ in both aesthetic and behavior. Some have spiny shells while others' are smooth. They can live in salt water or fresh water, and so forth.

Here are 18 of the most fascinating turtle species in the world.

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African Helmeted Turtle

The African helmeted turtle (Pelomedusa subrufa), also called the marsh terrapin, is known for wearing a permanent smile. But don't let its friendly demeanor fool you: The African helmeted turtle is a carrion eater and can be quite vicious in its quest for food. The species has even been witnessed drowning doves and other relatively large prey, dragging them to the depths of ponds to dine.

The African helmeted turtle is prevalent throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and Yemen. It exhibits unusual head-tucking behavior in which its neck does not fully go back into its shell but rather tucks along the edges to protect the turtle.

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Mata Mata Turtle

The mata mata (Chelus fimbriatus) is perfectly camouflaged for its preferred habitat of slow-moving streams, stagnate pools, and marshes. With a carapace (hard upper shell) that looks like bark and a head and neck that resemble fallen leaves, this South American turtle is more capable of blending in with its surroundings, ready to sneakily suck up any fish that crosses its path. It has a particularly long and pointy snout that it uses like a snorkel, sticking it just out of the water to breathe.

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Red-Bellied Short-Necked Turtle

The red-bellied short-necked turtle (Emydura subglobosa) has been nicknamed the painted terrapin because it has a bright-red belly when it's young. The vivid hue fades to orange or yellow as it ages and becomes more prominent in males during the mating season.

Native to tropical Australia and New Guinea, the red-bellied short-necked turtle grows to be about 10 inches long. Its unique coloring makes it popular as a pet.

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Spiny Softshell Turtle

The spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera) is one of the largest freshwater turtles found in North America, with females growing a carapace of up to 19 inches long. Even more interesting, though, is the small spines that project from the upper front portion of its carapace, making it look even more like its late dinosaur relatives. This feature is how the spiny softshell turtle got its name.

Found from Canada to Mexico, these turtles can live 50 years and don't reach sexual maturity until eight to 10 years old.

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Roti Island Snake-Necked Turtle

The Roti Island snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordi) is one of the stranger looking turtle species, with its namesake elongated neck. Its most distinguishing feature can reach between seven and nine inches long, about the length of its carapace (taking up half of its body length).

Sadly. this species is critically endangered. Its desirability in the pet trade has led to serious declines of wild populations. The two or three populations left are located in a tiny area of Rote Island, Indonesia, and they are still often illegally captured for trade.

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Radiated Tortoise

Native to Madagascar, the radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) is distinguished by its high-domed shell featuring yellow lines fanning out from the center of each plate (hence the name "radiated"). It can grow to be 16 inches long and weigh 35 pounds.

In addition to its geometric aesthetic, the radiated tortoise can live especially long. The oldest on record is Tu'i Malila, who lived to be an estimated 188 years old and was reportedly gifted to the royal family of Tonga by Captain James Cook. This turtle is critically endangered due to habitat loss, poaching, and collection for the pet trade.

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Leatherback Turtle

Not only is the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) the largest of all sea turtles, it also dives the deepest and travels the farthest. Unlike other sea turtles, it has no scales or hard shell; instead, its back is covered with rubbery skin and oily flesh, a feature believed to be unchanged since the dinosaur era.

Leatherbacks are real tough guys, too, apt to chase away sharks and other predators. And yet, like most sea turtle species, this one is threatened by fishing and plastic pollution, currently listed on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable to extinction.

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Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle

Cantor's giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii) is called "giant" because it can be more than six feet long. Its broad head and flattened shell helps to camouflage it with the sand as it waits, motionless, at the bottom of freshwater rivers and streams, for a chance to ambush its prey. It surfaces only twice a day to breathe.

The peculiar-looking turtle was only recently rediscovered in Cambodia in 2007. It's a critically endangered species.

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African Spurred Tortoise

The African spurred tortoise (Geochelone sulcata) has impressive "spurs" along its forelegs. Found along the southern edge of the Sahara desert, it is the third largest tortoise species in the world, and the largest mainland tortoise (both the larger Galapagos tortoise and Aldabra giant tortoise are island dwellers).

These turtles can grow to two to three feet long over their 50- to 150-year lifespan. Because they're popular in the pet trade, they are often removed from the wild and are, as a result, listed as endangered.

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Indian Flapshell Turtle

Turtle with smooth, flat shell resting on rock — Puripat penpun / Getty Images

The Indian flapshell turtle (Lissemys punctata) has many folds of skin that cover its limbs when it retreats into its shell. These flaps of skin are thought to help protect it from predators and can also help it survive through dry weather..

As an omnivore, this turtle dines on anything from frogs and fish to flowers and fruit. And while it prefers living in streams and ponds, it can tolerate a certain level of drought by burrowing and traveling to other water holes.

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Alligator Snapping Turtle

The largest freshwater turtle in the world based on weight, the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) can reach 150 pounds or more. It's found in the southeastern U.S. and gets its name through both its primitive, gatorlike looks and its ambush-style hunting technique. Its mouth is camouflaged and it has a wormlike appendage on the tip of its tongue to lure in fish, snakes, water birds, and other turtles.

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Big-Headed Turtle

The big-headed turtle (Platysternon megacephalum) has a head so large it can't retract it into its shell for protection, but it makes up for this with its powerful jaws. It also uses its jaws—as well as its rather long tail—to climb trees and bushes.

The species occurs in southern China and throughout Southeast Asia, where it is sometimes captured for food. Being hunted for food markets and the pet trade has caused the big-headed turtle to become critically endangered.

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Yellow Blotched Map Turtle

The yellow blotched map turtle (Graptemys flavimaculata) is one of several species of map turtle, called so because of the maplike markings on its carapace. Map turtles have ridges that run along the backs of their shells, which is how they got the name "saw-backed" turtles.

This species has a very small range—it is located only in the Pascagoula River of Mississippi and its tributaries. That, combined with a low reproduction success rate (due to human disturbance and crow predation), has caused the species to be vulnerable to extinction.

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Galapagos Tortoise

One of the more well-known terrapins, the giant Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) is the world's largest living species of tortoise, sometimes living for more than 100 years in the wild. In fact, one captive Galapagos tortoise lived to be 170. The biggest Galapagos tortoises on record were more than six feet long and weighed 880 pounds.

The species is native to the Galapagos islands, and subspecies are found on seven of the islands in the archipelago. Hunting, habitat loss, and introduction of nonnative species have caused their numbers to plummet.

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Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Majd Forrest / Getty Images

The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is found throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. It gets its name from the sharp point at the end of its upper jaw, resembling a raptor's bill, which helps it gather food from the crevices of coral reefs.

Despite the hawksbill sea turtle being critically endangered, its eggs are still widely collected for food, and the turtles themselves are still caught for meat and for their beautifully colored shells, often made into jewelry and trinkets. There are only around 20,000 nesting females left, and even those only nest every two to four years.

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Ploughshare Tortoise

The ploughshare tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora), also known as the angonoka tortoise, has a beautiful domed, golden-yellow shell with strongly demarcated growth rings. It's so beautiful, in fact, that it's known to attract poachers. In March 2013, smugglers were caught carrying a single bag containing 54 of them in an airport in Bangkok.

This tortoise, native to Madagascar, is critically endangered with fewer than 600 left in the wild and still declining. It is considered to be one of the rarest tortoises in the world, predicted to go extinct within two decades.

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Pig-Nosed Turtle

The pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta) is unique not just because of its snout, but also because it's the only freshwater turtle with flippers like sea turtles. It's found in streams, lagoons, and rivers in the Northern Territory of Australia and in New Guinea.

Sadly, the species has experienced a population decline of about 50 percent in recent decades, due mainly to the exotic pet trade. The species is known for its territorial behavior and thus high levels of aggression when in captivity, so captive breeding isn't an option for most pig-nosed turtle owners.

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Leopard Tortoise

The leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) is known for its distinct spotted shell markings, most defined early in life. Found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, it spends its days grazing on grasses and succulents. Despite its heavy-looking shell, the leopard tortoise is speedy, and can even climb. Its toenails give it a solid grip on porous surfaces, like wood and rough stone.