There are approximately 360 species of turtles, and they can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

A turtle's shell is actually part of its skeleton. It's made up of over 50 bones which include the turtle's rib cage and spine.

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of all living turtles and is the fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. The largest leatherback ever recorded was almost 10 feet (305 cm) from the tip of its beak to the tip of its tail and weighed in at 2,019 pounds (916 kg).

A group of turtles is called a "bale", and a group of tortoises is called a "creep."

Herpetologists consider the wood turtle to be among the most intelligent of the turtles. In lab tests, they consistently score higher than other species (including white rats) on maze and reward-association tests, exhibiting a degree of curiosity and problem-solving abilities not evident in other turtles.

A tortoise is land-dwelling, while many (though not all) other turtle species are at least partly aquatic.

Turtles may not be known as fast movers, but Bertie the tortoise is the Usain Bolt of the turtle world. At Adventure Valley, a family adventure park in Brasside, Durham, UK, Bertie sprinted over a 5.48 meter course to claim the title of fastest tortoise in the world. During his record-breaking run, he reached a top speed of 0.28 m/s (0.62 mph), absolutely smashing the previous record of 0.125 m/s (0.27 mph) which had gone unchallenged since 1977.

Unlike other turtles, sea turtles cannot retract their flippers and head into their shells. But their streamlined shells and large paddle-shaped flippers make them very agile and graceful swimmers.

Plastic bags look a lot like jellyfish and/or seaweed when they're floating in the water--both of which are considered tasty snacks by sea turtles--but ingesting plastics isn't a harmless mistake. It can cost sea turtles their lives. Harder plastics can pierce the intestinal wall, and softer plastics can cause blockages or give the false sensation of being full, in which case turtles will neglect to seek out other food and ultimately die from starvation.

A turtle's upper shell is called a "carapace", and the lower shell is called a "plastron".