| Abdominal scutes | The two scutes found in middle of the plastron where the bridge connects. |
| Acclimatization | Slow changes in an animal's behavior and physiology to lasting changes in the animal's habitat (environment). |
| Anal scutes | Scutes located on the dorsal part the plastron near cloaca vent |
| Aquatic turtle | A type of chelonian whose natural habit is freshwater streams and ponds,
leaving it only to temporarily sun bathe and lay eggs.
Example: red-eared slider see terrapin |
| Binomial nomenclature | The scientific system of classifcation that assigns the genus and species name of the animal. It serves to prevent the confusion that arises from common names of animals. Example: Common Eastern Box Turtle - Terrapene carolina |
| Bridge | The side of the turtle shell that links the carapace and plastron. |
| Carapace | The upper portion of the turtle's protective shell |
| Carnivore | An animal that ingests meat as its primary food source. |
| Class | Taxonomic group consisting of related orders. Reptiles are in the class Reptilia. |
| Cold-blooded | An inaccurate term used on reptiles to describe their inablility to regulate their body temperature. This term applies a negative connatoation to reptiles. Instead see ectothermic |
| Costal scutes | Series of scutes that run along both sides of the carapace between the vertebral and marginal scutes. |
| Ectothermic | A term used for animals like reptiles and amphibians that are unable to regulate their body temperature. They require heat gradients to regulate their temperature. |
| Endothermic | A term that describes animals such as mammals and birds that are capable of regulating their body temperature without a heat gradient. Nine tenths of a mammals energy is spent on maintaining a constant temperature, explaining why mammals have a higher metabolism and eat more than reptiles. |
| Femoral scutes | Two scutes located towards the dorsal part of the plastron between the anal and abdominal scutes. Also where the hind legs extend out from the body of the turtle, hence the name femoral. |
| Gular scutes | The two most anterioral scutes on the plastron where the neck and head are located. |
| Habitat | The enviroment in which an animal lives. |
| Herbivore | An animal that eats mostly plants. Most, but not all, tortoises are herbivores. |
| Herpetology | The study of reptiles and amphibians dealing with their anatomy, behavior, breeding, habitat, and raising. |
| Humeral scutes | The scutes located on the anterior part of the plastron behind the gular scutes. |
| Insectivore | An animal that eat insects and other small arthropods that are not classified as meat. |
| Keel | Ridge that runs along the middle of the vertebral scutes of the carapace part of the shell. Not all turtles and tortoises have keels; Sawbacks and Map turtles have the most prominent keels of North American turtles. |
| Keratin | Type of protein found in animals, and in the case of turtles, serves as part of the shell and claws. |
| Kingdom | The largest level of classification. Animals belong to the kingdom Animalia. |
| Marginal scutes | The small scutes that are located nearly all the way around the exterior part of the carapace. Part of these scutes overhang the shell and body of the turtle. |
| Nuchal scute | The single small thin scute that interrupts the series of marginal scutes at the anterior part of the carapace. Sometimes it is in error refered to as a marginal scute, but its different shape separates from the marginal scute. |
| Omnivore | An animal that ingests both meat and plants. This term best describes box turtle and most aquatic turtles. |
| Order | Taxonomic level below class that consists of related families. Turtles are in the order Chelonia. |
| Pectoral scutes | The two scutes located between the humeral and abdnomial scutes on the anterior plastron. |
| Phylum | Classification level below Kingdom but higher than class. All vertebrate animals are in the phylum Chorodata. Note: In plants phyla are refered to as divisons. |
| Plastron | The lower portion of the chelonian shell. |
| Semi-aquatic turtle | A type of chelonian that lives part of its life in water and part on land.
Eventhough, it does have adaptations for land it still requires a humid
enviroment when on land for any long duration. Example: wood turtle |
| Scute | Segments of the turtle's shell. Types: abdominal, anal, costal, femoral, gular, humeral, marginal, nuchal, pertoral, and vertebral. |
| Substrate | The surface of a reptile's enclosure. It ranges from peatmoss to astroturf. |
| Suture | Pattern where the bones of the shell join |
| Taxonomy | The science of classifying and assigning organisms names by organizing them into a hierarchial system. The modern system was invented by Carolus Linnaeus in the 1700's. It consists of seven levels: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species with super, sub, and infra sublevels at each level. |
| Terrapin | A type of chelonian of the genus Malaclemys and similar gernera that lives in water. This term is often used for all freshwater aquatic turtles. see aquatic turtle |
| Terrestial turtle | see tortoise |
| Tortoise | A type of Chelonia of the family Testudinidae that lives on land. It visits sources
of water only for drinking and soaking and normally most terrestial turtle
are poor swimmers due to their adaptations to land. Example: Leopard
tortoise see terrestial turtle |
| Turtle | Reptiles of the order Chelonia chariacterized by toothless jaws and a shell that is an outgrowth of their ribs and vertebrate which surrounds their body. There are three types of turtle: tortoises(terrestial turtles ), terrapins(aquatic turtles), and marine (sea) turtles. In England the term turtle only applies to marine turtles. |
| Vertebral scutes | The series of scutes that run along the backbone area of the carapace. |
| Warm-blooded | See endothermic |
| Water | A polar molecule with the formula H2O. Water is crucical to aquatic turtles to swim in and for tortoises to drink, soak, and defocate in. |