Reptiles 4: TURTLES and Extinct Reptiles Ms. Bridgeland 5 th Grade

Reptiles 4: TURTLES and Extinct ReptilesMs. Bridgeland5th Grade

Turtles – “Testudines” –have existed for 215 million years.

Turtles Can live in the ocean, in fresh water,

and on land.

Turtles that live on land are commonly called “tortoises”

Turtle = a reptile whose body is covered by a protective shell that includes ribs and a backbone

How can their shells be used?

For protection SOME turtles (not all) can draw their

heads, legs, and tail inside their shells for protection –an example is the box turtle

Upper shell is called a “carapace.”

Lower shell is called a “plastron.”

How do Turtles eat? They feed in a variety of ways, but:

ALL turtles have a sharp-edged beak instead of teeth

NO TEETH for turtles

Can be herbivores OR carnivores

Carnivores: Leatherbacks eat jellyfish

Herbivores: Galapagos tortoise eats cacti

Can you think of reptiles that have gone extinct?

Dinosaurs Reptiles that went extinct about 65 million years

ago Some biologists think that certain birds

descended from dinosaurs Unlike today’s ectothermic reptiles, some

dinosaurs were endothermic Dinosaurs were the earliest vertebrates that had

legs positioned beneath their bodies instead of out to the side like current reptiles

Some scientists believed that Dinosaurs evolved from BIRDS

Dinosaurs