The spiny turtles, long-necked turtles, and black-humped turtles make many people surprised by their strange shapes and “unique” features.

1. Thorny Tortoise

The spiny tortoise is a type of turtle with a special shell that lives in Southeast Asia. Like many other turtle species, the number of these reptiles has been decreasing in recent years because of being caught for meat and limited habitat.

Thorny turtles have serrated shells and many sharp points. These spikes are initially sharper and gradually wear down over time. This is considered a weapon to protect them when they are young, as well as a form of camouflage that makes turtles look like leaves.

2. Chinese soft shell turtle

This turtle has a very special way of excreting urine that is through the mouth that scientists have not recorded in any other animal. This special ability makes it possible for them to live in saltwater areas because they do not produce much wastewater that needs to be added to many alternative water. Softshell turtles live in many parts of Asia, including Vietnam.

3. Mary River Turtle, Australia

The Mary River Turtle is found in the Mary River area, Queensland, Australia. This turtle has many colors such as red, blue, black, brown. Small turtle head, long tail relative to body size. A female tortoise takes 25 years and a male tortoise takes 30 years to reach maturity. The respiration process of the Mary turtle takes place on land, but this turtle can also absorb oxygen in the water through the parts located in the tail.

4. Soft-shelled turtles

The spiny softshell turtle lives in the United States, Canada, and northern Mexico. This is a turtle with a rather strange shape with a triangular head, flat, round shell, many black spots. Over time, these dark spots will fade. The spiny softshell turtle has a long, thin nose, with many conical excesses on the front of the shell. The sex of this turtle is determined by genes, while in most other tortoises, sex is determined by temperature and the environment in the sand.

5. Oriental long-necked turtle

The Eastern long-necked turtle is a species of turtle that lives in the lakes of Australia. This is a turtle with a longer neck than other turtles. The long neck of the turtle is proportional to the size of the shell. With a rather snake-like shape, people also call this snake-necked turtle . The turtle takes advantage of its long neck to hunt. When threatened, this type of turtle will release a foul-smelling fluid from a distance of 1 m that causes other animals to stay away.

6. Black Humpback Turtle

This is a fairly small turtle, living mainly in freshwater rivers such as Mississippi and Alabama, USA. The distinctive feature of the black-humped turtle is that it has many sharp points on the shell and becomes less pointed as the turtle gets older. The underside of the turtle’s shell is usually gray or blue. Black humpback turtles mainly eat insects.

7. Big-headed turtle

Big-headed turtles live in Southeast Asia. The distinguishing feature of this turtle is its very large head . The big-headed turtle has a brown shell and is quite smooth and slippery. Unlike other turtles, big-headed turtles cannot retract their heads into their shells, so they have a bone “helmet” to avoid head impacts. To protect themselves, big-headed turtles use their strong jaws. It can also climb trees and hills. The big-headed turtle is an endangered species due to overhunting by humans.

8. Pig-nosed turtle

Pig-nosed turtles live in New Guinea and Australia. This is the only freshwater turtle with flippers like a sea turtle . However, the most striking feature of this turtle is the nose that is quite similar to a pig’s nose. The nose can act as a breathing tube, protruding above the surface of the water. The pig’s nose of turtles is very sensitive to movements and makes it easy for them to catch prey underwater. The pig-nosed turtle population has more than halved in the past 50 years.

9. Red-bellied short-necked turtle

The shell of the turtle is orange on the edges and on the inside. The color of the shell fades as the turtle ages, but is still clearly visible as the turtle matures. Red-bellied short-necked turtles live mainly in the water, only coming ashore to make nests or sunbathe. When sunbathing, their throat movements appear, tears will run up the face and down the mouth of the turtle, while it continues to open and close its mouth, similar to the breathing action of a dog.

10. African Armor Turtle

The African Armored Tortoise can emit a terrible odor from the four glands in each limb. When female turtles lay eggs, they often choose a spot and urinate to soften the soil and dig holes more easily. This turtle often catches large prey such as pigeons, snakes and other turtles. This is the only turtle known to hunt in groups.

11. Mata mata leaf turtle (Chelus fimbriatus)

It is one of the oldest remaining species on Earth. This turtle has an extremely impressive and unique shape, a master of camouflage from birth. When young it looks like a dry leaf, when grown it looks like an inanimate, motionless rock or log.

12. Radiation tortoise (Astrochelys radiata)

This tortoise, native to Madagascar, is a beautiful tortoise that is critically endangered due to habitat loss and hunting. This species grows to about 40cm in length, and can weigh around 15kg. There is an impressive class tomorrow.

13. Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

Leatherback sea turtles can dive the deepest, and go the furthest. It can fight back and drive away predators like sharks. Unlike other sea turtles, it has no shell, instead it is covered with oily flesh.

14. Cantor’s giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii)

Cantor’s giant soft shell turtle can grow to 1.8m in length, it has a very large head, with eyes placed near the snout. It spends most of its time lying buried in sand or mud, lying motionless waiting for prey it ambushes. It only comes to the surface twice a day to breathe.

15. African spurred turtle (Geochelone sulcata)

This particular tortoise has impressive spurs on its front legs. It is the third largest tortoise in the world, and the largest land turtle. It can grow to 1m in length, lives from 50-150 years old.