In fact, the English name of turtle is not fixed. Just like when we translate English into Chinese, there can be several names. The translation is different in different regions, and the same is true for English. Then, what is the usage of the English name of the pet turtle and how to distinguish it? Let's take a look with the editor below.

Hawkeye

Some domestic websites and books There is something debatable about the use of the English names of turtles. Of course, we can't say whether they use it wrongly, because there are also international differences. The three commonly used words are Terrapin, Tortoise, Turtle, and these three words have different understandings and usages in different countries and regions.

The term Terrapin refers to freshwater turtles in North America, pond turtles specifically in Europe, and freshwater turtles in South Africa and South Asia. The term Tortoise generally refers to tortoises, which is basically a consensus in most countries, but in Australia it refers to freshwater turtles, whether it has anything to do with the geographical location. Turtle generally refers exclusively to sea turtles, including Turtles, Leatherbacks, and Turtles, but is also sometimes referred to as freshwater turtles in North America.

In my country's Vertebrate Taxonomy, the entire turtle family and tortoise family are called Tortoise, and the turtle family, ratite family, turtle family, leatherback family are collectively referred to as Tortoise. Turtle. In Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles, the species in the Ratidae and Turtles are called Terrapin, while the species in the Turtle family, Leatherback turtles and Turtles are called Turtle.

The American Hand Book of Turtle, Turtle of the World and other books only refer to tortoises as Tortoise, while freshwater turtles are called Terrapin, and sea turtles still use Turtle. It is mentioned in the book Living Reptiles of the World that the British generally refer to sea turtles as Turtle, and the rest of the turtles, including tortoises and freshwater turtles, are referred to as Tortoise, while Americans never refer to Tortoise. The term Tortoise is used for water turtles.

It can be seen that different countries and regions have not been able to unify the English names of turtles, so we should try to use the scientific name as the main name in the future study. For another example, when reading related books in different countries and regions, one must pay attention to the difference in word meaning when understanding and understanding the names of turtles in English.