WILDERNESS SURVIVAL GUIDE

   This reptile is cold blooded,has short sturdy feet,and has a hard shell that protects them like a shield.There are probably many animals with these key features,but the animal that I am talking about is a turtle.Like humans,turtles breathe air and are omnivores.Also,turtles have color vision and night vision.Sadly,some turtle species are endangered.Just like other animal species,there are two types of turtles:Crytodira and Pleurodira.Only some types of turtles can retract their heads but the only difference is that Crytodira can retract their necks backwards and Pleurodira can retract their heads sideways.As you may know,one of the key features of the turtle is their hard shell.They have an upper shell called a Carpace and a lower shell called a Plastron.Also there are two other species of turtles:terrapins and tortoises.

   Turtles are not exactly like any typical marine life.For example,even though they spend most of their lives in water,they do not lay their eggs underwater.Surprisingly,they lay their eggs in the sand!Also,they have rigid beaks and use their jaws to cut and chew food.Their diets depend on the type of enviroment they are living in.Adult turtles like to eat aquatic plants,invertebrates such as insects,snails,and worms,and dead marine animals.Other turtles like to eat crazy things such as jellyfish,sponge,softbodied organisms,algae,and shellfish.Turtles have had an existance for over 215 million years.Another interesting fact is that turtles have special glands called salt glands that remove salt from from salt water that they drink.