Turtles & Tortoises Around the World

Generally, turtles are reptiles with shells, whether terrestrial or aquatic. However, tortoises are terrestrial reptiles with a dome-shaped shell and clawed feet; turtles are aquatic reptiles with somewhat flatter shells, and with webbed toes or flipper-like feet.

Like all reptiles, they are poikilothermic (same temperature as the surroundings, so they like to bask in the sun), and they lay eggs with leathery shells on land.

The aquatic animals lay their eggs in sand near the water's edge, and the little ones have a dangerous trek to the water just after hatching. Tortoise hatchlings are not so exposed, but also have a high mortality rate.

Turtles

• Ascension Island #170 - Green, 4p – Chelonia mydas - The species range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
• Ascension Island #171 - Loggerhead, 9p - Caretta caretta - The species feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, fish, jellyfish, and other small to medium-size marine animals, which they crush with their large and powerful jaws. They grow to 3.5 ft long and 800 lbs. Loggerheads are the most common sea-going species to nest in the United States and in Greenland. They nest from Texas to Virginia, requiring soft sandy beaches, where there is little light. The largest concentration of nests is in south Florida.
• Ascension Island #172 - Hawksbill, 12p - Eretmochelys imbricate – a critically endangered sea species (due to human fishing practices), it has world-wide distribution, with different populations in Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It eats toxic sea sponges and jellyfish. They grow to a meter in length and 80 kg weight.
• Maldives #841 – Leatherback – Dermochelys coriacea - Great leatherback sea turtles reach six or seven feet (2 m) in length at maturity, and three to five feet (1 to 1.5 m) in width, weighing up to 1300 pounds (650 kg). The stamp shows one with a fish in its beak, but their favourite food is jellyfish.

• Malaysia #179 – $1 Leatherback - Dermochelys coriacea – The same as the one from the Maldives, this one is shown on a sandy shore, which means it is a female. The males never come ashore after hatching. Instead of the bony carapace, its back is covered by skin and the turtle's oily flesh, with longitudinal ridges along the surface. Note: the name on the stamp is misspelled as Dermochelys coriacae.
• Australia #1462a - 45¢ Flatback - Natator depressus is a sea turtle that is endemic to the continental shelf of Australia. Somewhat flattened in appearance, they nest only in Australia. They eat sea grass, mollusks, jellyfish, shrimp and fish. They are also an Endangered species.

Tortoises

• South Africa #853 – Psammobates geometricus – The Geometric Tortoise is found in a small section of South Africa. It grows to 6”. The geometric tortoise is endangered; it is threatened by loss of habitat due to farming and by people who eat its eggs and use the shells of adults as decoration.
• Thailand #2115 - Southeast Asian Box Turtle - Cuora amboinensis - All have a blackish olive head with three yellow "racing stripes" on the side. It is omnivorous, and prefers to live close to water.
• Australia #787 – Eastern Snake-necked Tortoise - Chelodina sp. – these small tortoises are taken from the wild for the international pet trade, depleting the population. Similar tortoises are found on the islands between New Guinea & Australia.

• US #2326 - Terrapene carolina - North American Box Turtles are omnivores. With sharp eyes and keen sense of smell they search for food such as snails, insects, slugs, worms, fish, frogs, salamanders, some rodents, snakes, birds, roots, flowers, berries, fungi, and eggs. Habitat loss is a major threat to them, breaking up their range and making it hard to find mates. Crossing roads is a danger too. Many are taken from the wild as pets, but die in captivity. Aside from changing the population in the wild, they need a complex environment which is not provided by pet owners.
• Canada #813, 17¢ issued in 1979 - Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle, whose Latin name, Trionyx spinifera, printed on the stamp, has been changed to Apalone spinifera. It is an endangered species; the environmental threat to this species is toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes region.
• Romania #1719 – 5b face value, Greek tortoise - Testudo graeca ibera – found in Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, "Eurasian Tortoise". This stamp is one of a set of 4 stamps on the diagonal, consisting of a tortoise and 3 lizards. The rest of the set is shown under "lizards" in the reptile page.

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