When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The broad-shelled river turtle (Chelodina expansa) falls into a group known as side-neck turtles.

Turtles (Testudines) have captivated evolutionary biologists for decades due to their distinct morphology and ancient origins. Recent studies have elucidated the evolutionary transformations that led ...

Continuing our fascination with the phenomenon that is cold weather, we bring you this piece of environmental news. Last night a handful of New England TV stations reported that 20 sea turtles were on ...

A newly discovered early turtle fossil from 228 million years ago is missing something crucial: its shell. But in the long, intriguing tale of turtle evolution, turtles didn't always have it all -- ...

Turtles are famous for their shells, but this feature is far more than a protective covering. A turtle’s shell is actually fused to its skeleton, meaning its ribs and spine became part of a living ...

Family ties The turtle is a closer relative of crocodiles and birds than of lizards and snakes, according to researchers who claim to have solved an age-old riddle in animal evolution. The ancestry of ...

The turtle neck retraction requires distinctive cervical features. Turtles are classified into two main categories, depending on whether they retract their heads by pulling them straight backwards, ...

Cartoons often suggest turtles wear shells like removable armor. Those stories show turtles stepping out, swapping shells, or treating them like clothing. Biology disagrees. A turtle shell is not an ...