Speed of a Turtle or Tortoise

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Turtles and tortoises are reptiles from the order Chelonia.Each is protected by an armor-like shell and also by its strong,beaked, toothless jaws. They are found throughout most of thetemperate and tropical worlds. Turtles are the oldest living groupof reptiles, dating back to the time of the earliest dinosaurs.But the safety of the shell is not guaranteed because many predatorscan overpower them. As a result, they must be quick to escapeharm.

In New Jersey researchers examined 53 living wood turtles thathad been injured previously by predators. About 27 of them weremissing limbs, while 11 others were mutilated carapaces (the uppershell of the turtle). However, turtles are sometimes said to livefor years after being injured. Wood turtles are considered overlandspeed demons compared to the other species. An adult wood turtlewas able to cover a distance of 450 feet (140 m) in25 minutes, a rate of 0.2 miles per hour (0.091 m/s).A bog turtle, was the opposite of the wood turtle, and traveledonly 56 feet (17 m) in one day. It took this same bogturtle two weeks to traverse a 600 foot wide (200 m)meadow.

The average turtle swims at a pace of 10 to 12 mph (4to 5 m/s) and walks at 3 to 4 mph (1 to 2 m/s).Newborn hatchling turtles swim about 25 miles (40 km)in 30 hours on average. Female turtles usually swim at afaster pace than that of their babies or the male turtle in orderto protect their young from predators. The marine green turtle(Chelonia mydas) has been known to swim 300 miles(480 km) in 10 days. Soft-shell turtles (Trionychidae)are able to move their limbs at rates comparable to that in birdsand mammals. They are powerful swimmers and run on land with startlingspeeds. Soft-shell turtles are more active and mobile and areable to strike with the speed of a snake and the agility of amammal. There are seven different species of sea turtles, butthe most known turtle is the green sea turtle. It has the abilityto swim up to 20 mph (9 m/s). The fastest speed of anyreptile was found to be 22 mph (9.8 m/s) in the caseof a frightened pacific leatherback turtle.

Generally, turtles move faster than tortoises, even on land.Tortoises of the genus Gopherus have been clocked at rates0.13 to 0.30 mph (0.05 to 0.13 m/s). This is comparedto the rate on land of a normally aquatic cooter (Pseudemysfloridana) which has been recorded at 1.07 mph (0.47 m/s).In a speed test carried out in the Seychelles a male giant tortoisecould only cover 15 feet (4.6 m) in 43.5 secondsdespite the enticement of a female. Land tortoises travel slowlybut can sometimes manage human walking speeds. Even when theyhurry, they don't go very fast. It would take a typical tortoiseone hour to walk a city block.

The turtles' use of it's flippers as paddlers for swimmingis amazing. The most efficient undersea paddlers are the giantsea turtles. Clumsy and almost helpless on land (they have tocome ashore to lay their eggs) they are fast migrators in thesea and can reach speeds of 10 knots and are very agile.

Most turtles can not survive in really cold temperatures andthe body temperature of the turtle is that of the outside airor water. A cold environment could cause the animal's life processesto slow down to the point where it is incapable of motion.

In conclusion, although the turtle is generally a slow movingreptile, it is a misconception that it is the slowest reptilein existence.

Rachel Shweky -- 1999

Editor's Supplement -- 1999

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