You may think you already know all there is to about the humble turtle. They have a shell, are famously slow moving, and they are big fans of swimming. Well, we are here to tell you that there is more to these fascinating animals than meets the eye, so without further ado, here are our top 7 cool turtle facts!
7 – The Shell Isn’t What It Seems!
Whilst cartoons may have had you believing that turtles can hop in and out of their shells when the need arises, this is not the case. The turtles shell is actually made up of around 50 different bones and is an evolutionary modification of the turtle’s rib cage and vertebral column. Shells have nerve endings inside them too, so if a turtles shell is injured it will feel pain.
6 – Alligator Snapping Turtles Can Go Fishing
The alligator snapping turtle of North America has an appendage in its mouth which it uses as a lure. This lure then attracts fish in to the turtle’s mouth, and once this happens there is no escape for the poor fish…
5 – Turtles Can Make Some Weird Noises!
Even though they lack vocal cords, turtles can still emit some rather odd noises. They do this by swallowing or forcing air out of their lungs, and the sounds that are released are unique to say the least! The giant musk turtle, found in Central America, is known for yelping like a dog when it is startled, and even weirder than this the female leatherback turtle which is known to make a human-like belching sound!
4 – Males Find Their Mate Through A Keen Sense Of Smell!
Male turtles use a very unique technique to find their future mate. They will smell under the female’s tail to gauge if she is ready to mate via pheromones. Still, it is better than spending hours in a club or on tinder….
3 – Turtles Are Not In Fact Deaf
You may have heard that turtles are deaf, but this is not true. Whilst they cannot hear as well as other animals, they are not completely deaf. They can only perceive sounds in the 50 to 1,500 Hz range compared to the human range of 20 -20,000 Hz, but this is still enough to detect the presence of any predators that are near.
2 – They Are Almost As Old As The Dinosaurs
Turtles and dinosaurs emerged at essentially the same time in natural history terms. The oldest known turtle fossil takes us back a whopping 220 million years, meaning it was around 23 million years after its earliest known dinosaur relative. This may seem like a very long time to us, but in the context of the earth’s history it is a snip!
1 – Turtles Have Favourite Colours
Research has shown that not only can turtles perceive colours, but they prefer certain ones. Turtles are attracted by red, orange, and yellow shades, and when they see one of these their “investigative instinct” comes in to play and they go to check out their potential food source.
