Reptiles 4 : TURTLES and Extinct Reptiles

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

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Upper shell is called a “carapace.”

6. Lower shell is called a “plastron.”

7. 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

8. Carnivores: Leatherbacks eat jellyfish • Herbivores: Galapagos tortoise eats cacti

9. Can you think of reptiles that have gone extinct?

10. 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

11. Some scientists believed that Dinosaurs evolved from BIRDS

12. Dinosaurs