Shell patterns and identification

To identify a turtle, we will need to check more than just the patterns on the shell. For example, if the turtle has big flippers that do not resemble legs, it is a marine turtle. If the toes of a turtle are webbed, the turtle is a swimmer and lives in water either part of the time or always. If the turtle has claws rather than webbed toes, it is a tortoise.

Next, is the shell of the turtle hard or soft? If the turtle shell is soft, it’s considered a soft-shell turtle. If the top shell (called carapace) is high and shaped like a dome and the underside (called plastron) hinged, it is probably a box turtle.

But yes, the patterns on the shell of the turtle provides a quick way to identify a turtle because it is visual. For sea turtles for example, if the turtle has 5 ridges along the carapace instead of box-like scutes, it is a leatherback turtle.

The Turtle Identification Key on the right provides an example on how the patterns on the carapace of a turtle can be used to identify the marine turtles.

And no, contrary to what you see on cartoons and comics, a turtle cannot leave its shell. The turtle’s backbone and ribcages are fused with the shell.