World Turtle Day is observed on May 23 each year. The purpose of this holiday is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for,
turtles and
tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.
The words turtle, tortoise and terrapin are often used interchangeably but the general rule is to call them tortoises if land-based, turtles if
river or
sea-based, and terrapins if amphibian.
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In
Britain, 'turtle' is generally used for saltwater species, 'terrapin' for freshwater varieties. However in the USA the word ‘turtle' covers all types while Australians use ‘tortoise' for any of them.
One way to tell a turtle and a tortoise apart is by looking at their
feet – water turtles usually have flippers or webbed feet and their shells are flatter while tortoises have stubby feet and domed shells.