Reptiles, as most commonly defined, are the animals in the class Reptilia, a paraphyletic grouping comprising all amniotes except synapsids and Aves (birds). The class comprises turtles, crocodilians, snakes, amphisbaenians, lizards, tuatara, and their extinct relatives. In the traditional Linnaean classification system, birds are considered a separate class to reptiles. However, crocodilians are more closely related to birds than they are to other living reptiles, and so modern cladistic classification systems include birds within Reptilia, redefining the term as a clade. Other cladistic definitions abandon the term reptile altogether in favor of the clade Sauropsida, which refers to all animals more closely related to modern reptiles than to mammals. The study of the traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology.
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the side-necked turtles and hidden neck turtles which differ in the way the head retracts. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including tortoises and terrapins. They are found on most continents, some islands and much of the ocean. Like other reptiles, birds, and mammals, they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. Genetic evidence typically places them in close relation to crocodilians and birds.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, also known as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, is an entertainment franchise created in 1983 by American comic book authors Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. It follows Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjitsu who fight evil in New York City.
Sea turtles, sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, flatback sea turtle, and leatherback sea turtle. All six of the sea turtle species present in US waters are listed as endangered and/or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The seventh sea turtle species is the Flatback, which exists in the waters of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Sea turtles can be separated into the categories of hard-shelled (cheloniid) and leathery-shelled (dermochelyid). There is only one dermochelyid species which is the leatherback sea turtle.
The leatherback sea turtle, sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 2 metres and weights of 600 kg. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named.
"Turtles all the way down" is an expression of the problem of infinite regress. The saying alludes to the mythological idea of a World Turtle that supports a flat Earth on its back. It suggests that this turtle rests on the back of an even larger turtle, which itself is part of a column of increasingly large turtles that continues indefinitely.
The painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only extant species of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Four regionally based subspecies evolved during the last ice age.
The olive ridley sea turtle, also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world. L. olivacea is found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but also in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
The spotted turtle, the only species of the genus Clemmys, is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of 8–12 cm (3.1–4.7 in) upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its exact colour from black to a bluish black with a number of tiny yellow round spots. The spotting patterning extends from the head, to the neck and out onto the limbs. Sexually mature males have a concave plastron and a long, thick tail. By contrast, sexually mature females possess a flat plastron and have a tail notable shorter and thinner than mature males. Mature males also have a dark iris and face; females typically have a yellow or orange iris and a similarly coloured face that is distinctly lighter than males. Juveniles appear female-like in this regard and at maturity males begin to develop darker features.
The loggerhead sea turtle, is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when fully grown. The adult loggerhead sea turtle weighs approximately 135 kg (298 lb), with the largest specimens weighing in at more than 450 kg (1,000 lb). The skin ranges from yellow to brown in color, and the shell is typically reddish brown. No external differences in sex are seen until the turtle becomes an adult, the most obvious difference being the adult males have thicker tails and shorter plastrons than the females.
The green sea turtle, also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black.
Venus de Milo is a fictional superhero within the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. She first appeared in the television series, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. There, she was portrayed by Nicole Parker and voiced by Lalainia Lindbjerg. She was the only female turtle prior to the introduction of Jennika in the IDW continuity in 2019, and the only turtle named after a work of art, rather than an artist.
The Asian giant softshell turtle, also known as Cantor's giant softshell turtle and the frog-faced softshell turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is native to Southeast Asia. The species is critically endangered and in the 20th century has disappeared from much of its former range.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American comic book series published by Mirage Studios between 1984 and 2014. Conceived by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it was initially intended as a one-shot, but due to its popularity it became an ongoing series. The comic created the Turtles franchise of five television series, six feature films, numerous video games, and a range of toys and merchandise.
Stupendemys is an extinct genus of freshwater side-necked turtle. Its fossils have been found in northern South America, in rocks dating from the Middle Miocene to the very start of the Pliocene, about 13 to 5 million years ago.
The narrow-bridged musk turtle is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to Central America and Mexico.
Glyptemys is a genus of turtles in the family Emydidae. It comprises two species, the bog turtle and wood turtle, both of which are endemic to North America. Until 2001, these turtles were considered members of the genus Clemmys, which currently has one member, the spotted turtle.
The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Indo-Pacific subspecies—E. i. imbricata and E. i. bissa, respectively.
Itilochelys is an extinct genus of sea turtle in the family Cheloniidae containing the single species Itilochelys rasstrigin. The species is known only from the Early Paleocene, Danian stage Rasstrigin 2 locality, Dubovsky District, Volgograd Oblast, Russia.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American 3D rendered computer animated television series based on the fictional superhero team. Headed by Ciro Nieli, the series aired on Nickelodeon in the United States from September 28, 2012 to November 12, 2017. It was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and LowBar Productions. Bardel Entertainment handled layout and CG animation services. The series begins with the turtles emerging from their sewer home for the first time. They use their ninjutsu training to fight enemies in present-day New York City.
