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Turtles and Tortoises
This is a really cute medium sized Soft-Shelled turtle I found walking in the middle of the street right in the front of my new home in Port Richey. Just thought I'd pick him up and say "Hi" before helping him to our nearby pond. "Put me Down!" ...who said that?
The shells of soft-shelled turtles are covered by leathery skin rather than horny scutes. All species of soft-shelled turtles are aquatic. They swim powerfully with paddlelike legs, while lifting their tubular noses out of the water for air.
Scientific classification: Gopher tortoises belong to the family Testudinidae. The gopher tortoise of the southeastern United States is classified as Gopherus polyphemus.
Scientists recognize two categories of turtles and tortoises—hidden-necked and side-necked. Hidden-necked species pull their heads directly backwards so that the neck vertebrae curve into a U-shape, as shown on the bottom left. In contrast, side-necked turtles, shown on the right, snake their neck sideways to tuck their head under the shell.