Tortoise = tortuga, turtle= tortuga marina. We just say one word for simplicity sakes. Also... A tortoise can swim. I had 7 of those when I was younger. Those fuckers can swim... They aren't as good as their marine/aquatic counterparts.
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· 8 years ago
Like...proper swim...? Or doggy paddle type thing?
Yes, I'm speaking from a US perspective. In zoological pedantry, turtles are aquatic and tortoises are land animals. However, it's another case of (American) English being excessively complex given that many languages have one word for both. I can't speak for British English.
Source? I'm not saying you are wrong, and I would assume that most tortoises are unable to swim. Even if they could stay afloat for a while there is no guarantee they could get to safety. I guess it depends on the definition of swim. For some definitions, no human can swim either (can't hold our breath for one hour and dive 200 meters).
Do you happen to know which tortoises can sort-of kinda swim in emergency?
@yukinimo j'avais même pas encore capté que t'était français(e)
I have recently learned that it is academically acceptable to use turtle to refer to both.
Do you happen to know which tortoises can sort-of kinda swim in emergency?