Robert Nielsen, age 9, of Salt Lake City, Utah for his question:­

Are turtles and tortoises different animals?

All these armor plated animals are classed in the animal order Chelonia, a name coined from an older word for shield. Experts claim that there is very little difference between them. In everyday language, however, we tend to divide the ancient order of Chelonia into the turtles and the tortoises.

A turtle is a water‑loving chelonian, with legs best suited for swimming. There are about 250 different turtles, ranging from the size of a teacup saucer to that of a small flying saucer. The big turtles dwell in the deep ocean and often measure eight feet or more.

A tortoise is a land lubber chelonian. Trice, he is a slow and clumsy walker, but his legs are fitted best for traveling over land. These fellows also range in size from teacup saucers to flying saucers. The biggest is the 500 pound tortoise of the Galapagos Islands.