A turtle is a dinosaur as turtles are a reptile which are also related to the dinosaurs.
DNA hypothesis suggests that turtles were a sister group to the archosaurs (the group that contains the dinosaurs and their relatives, including crocodiles and their ancestors and modern birds and their ancestors).
A second hypothesis posits that turtles were more closely related to lizards and tuataras.
The earliest marine turtles are believed to have appeared during the Jurassic period, but it wasn't until the Cretaceous period 100 million years ago that sea turtles began to evolve.
Prehistoric turtles coexisted with dinosaurs until they went extinct 65 million years ago.
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a shell developed mainly from their ribs.
Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the side-necked turtles and hidden neck turtles which differ in the way the head retracts.
Although their brains have become more complex, turtles are not capable of performing the same tricks and tasks and mammals and other species.
However, this does not mean they are not intelligent.
Their main concern is survival, so turtles learn how to survive, how to get food, and how to stay safe.
Most turtle species live from 10 to 80 years.
But sea turtles and large land tortoises can live to be much older.
Their lifespan can be 150 years or more.
As with whales, sharks, and other species, it is often difficult to determine a turtle's exact age.