Fletcher Compton, age 9, of Skiatook, Okla., for his question:

Do all turtles have claws on their feet?

The chelonians belong to one of the oldest of animal families. They have lived on earth, more or less as they are today, for around two hundred million years, There are not many different members in the family. We class them as turtles and tortoises. No one could mistake a chelonian for arty other kind of animal. But we are often confused when it comes to telling the turtles from the tortoises,

In a general way, we call the land‑loving chelonians tortoises and the water dwellers turtles. However, some of the slow=pokes refuse to stay put in this neat classification. These are those happy little fellows who enjoy life both on land and in the water. A creature usually needs legs for walking and flippers are more useful for swimming. A chelonian’s limbs may tell some of this story though hot all of it.

The ancestors of those old time chelonians began life in the sea. They were fitted only for life in the water. Long, long ago, these follows came out onto the dry land. They learned to breath air and walk about. In time they developed legs ending in sturdy claws. These things take countless ages. And after all that trouble, a few of the chelonians decided to go back and live in the sea, The whales and the porpoises have the same history,

These turn‑around chelonians now had a problem. They were fully fledged land animals and they had to suit their bodies to life in the water again. Certain things could not be changed. They had learned to breath air and they could not get back their gills for breathing water again. An ocean‑going turtle, like a whales must come up for air. Mrs. Turtle lays eggs and those eggs must be hatched on dry land. She may come ashore only to lay her eggs 'gut this she must do. The little ones are left to hatch out on their own and in some mysterious way they too find their way back to the sea.

Some parts of the sea‑going turtles, however, could be changed. Though it took a long time and is probably still going on. Those stumpy legs onoing in sturdy claws could be ehareed into leathery, taperinlippers. The claws become less noticeable.