How it works
This turtle anatomy quiz names a part and you tap it. One pond turtle is drawn twice: looking down on its back, and from the side with its head out. The quiz covers the outside of the animal, not the skeleton.
Read the full guide
Three kinds of scute, by where they sit
All three are on the top shell, in the view from above. The vertebral scutes are the single row down the midline, over the backbone. The costal scutes are the large plates on either side of that row. The marginal scutes are the small ones around the rim, at the margin of the shell.
The last five questions are on the side view
Head, beak and neck come first. The beak is the hard edge of the jaws, not the whole head. The bridge is the strip of shell at the side, between the front leg and the hind leg, and the plastron is the flat lower shell under it.
- Long neck or short, every turtle has eight bones in its neck.
Questions and answers
Can a turtle come out of its shell?
No. The shell is part of its skeleton: the carapace is the turtle's ribs and backbone, fused with plates of bone that form in the skin. Many turtles can draw the head back inside, but none can leave the shell.
Do turtles shed their scutes?
Some do. Turtles that live in water shed their scutes one at a time. Land tortoises keep theirs, and each scute grows as new layers of keratin are added at its base.
Do all turtles have scutes?
No. Softshell turtles, the pig-nosed turtle and the leatherback sea turtle have lost them. Their shells are covered only by skin.
What is the difference between a turtle and a tortoise?
A tortoise is a turtle that lives on land. Tortoises have column-like legs with short toes. Freshwater turtles have longer toes with webbing, and sea turtles have flippers.