Turtle - Lifespan | Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos turtle

• Introduction & Top Questions
• Form and function
• Natural history
  • Habitats
  • Feeding behaviour
  • Reproduction
    • Reproductive age and activity
    • Courtship and copulation
    • Nesting and egg laying
    • Egg development and hatching
  • Longevity
• Origin and evolution
• Classification

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics Images & Videos For Students turtle summary Quizzes Animal Group Names Deadliest Animals Quiz Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz Animal Factoids Related Questions

• What do turtles eat?
• How do turtle eggs hatch?

Contents Science Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates Reptiles print Print Please select which sections you would like to print:

• Table Of Contents

CITE verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/animal/turtle-reptile Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

• Animal Diversity Web - Turtle
• Alaska Department of Fish and Game - Turtle
• AZ Animals - Turtles
• National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Turtle species and ecology drive carapace microbiome diversity in three seasonally interconnected wetland habitats
• Ther Institute for American Indian Studies Museum and Research Center - Let�s Learn about Turtles
• PetMD - Aquatic Turtle Care Sheet
• University of Maryland - Department of Geology - Turtle
• Cell Press - Current Biology - Turtles and Tortoises Are in Trouble (PDF)
• Cell Press - Current Biology - The turtleÂ’s shell
• LiveScience - Turtle Facts
• PetMD - Aquatic Turtle Care Sheet
• Animal Corner - Turtles
• Frontiers - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution - Macroevolutionary processes in turtles (Testudines): a view from biomic specialization and historical climatic changes
• San Diego Zoo Animals and Plants - Turtle and Tortoise

Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

• turtle - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• turtle - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Longevity

in turtle in Natural history Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: Chelonia, Testudines Written by George R. Zug Curator Emeritus, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. George R. Zug Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Dec. 11, 2025 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Homework Help Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

The long lives of turtles are often proclaimed as fact, but reliable evidence is lacking for many of the claims. In some cases of exceptional longevity, written records reveal that the individual has mysteriously changed sex or species from beginning to end, hinting at a surreptitious replacement. Even so, if an individual survives to adulthood, it will likely have a life span of two to three decades. In the wild, American box turtles (Terrapene carolina) regularly live more than 30 years. Obviously, sea turtles requiring 40 to 50 years to mature will have life spans reaching at least 60 to 70 years. The giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands and Aldabra (Geochelone elephantopus and G. gigantea, respectively) have lived more than 60 years in zoos. On occasion it has been reported that individuals of a few tortoise species have lived in captivity for 100 to 250 years. In many of these cases, the reported sex of the supposedly long-lived tortoise, or the species, or even both, have mysteriously changed during captivity, making it difficult to accept the reliability of such reports. 100 years is not the maximum for a few species, especially sea turtles and giant tortoises, but, in order to surpass this age, an extremely nurturing protective environment would be required. For example, “Jonathan” (a Seychelles giant tortoise residing on Saintt Helena) is the world’s oldest known terrestrial animal; he was hatched in the early 1830s and likely owes his longevity to having been cared for by humans since the 1880s.