Terrific Turtles Vocabulary

Exothermic: having a body temperature not internally regulated but approximating 

that of the environment (cold-blooded)

            Reptile: any of a class (Reptilia) of vertebrates that include the alligators and  

            crocodiles, lizards, snakes, turtles, and extinct related forms and are characterized

            by ribs attached to the sternum and a body usually covered with scales or bony

            plates

            Scale: a small, flattened, rigid, and definitely circumscribed plate forming part of

            the external body covering

            Shell: hard rigid covering of an animal

            Turtle: any animal of the order Testudinata of land, freshwater, and marine

            reptiles with a toothless horny beak and a bony shell which encloses the trunk and

            into which the head, limbs, and tail usually may be drawn