Turtles have one of the most fascinating anatomies in the animal kingdom. They belong to the reptilian order Testudines, which includes box turtles and terrapins also. They are known for their hard outer skeleton, the shell. It is an extension of their ribs and protects them from predators. Apart from this, they also have an inner frame comprising the rest of their body.
But if you’ve ever looked at a turtle and wondered if it has a tail, the answer is yes. Both land and sea turtles belonging to all the 360 species have tails, though their form varies from species to species.
In the world of animals, tails play an essential role. A creature like a cheetah might use it for balance as it sprints, while a fish may use it for making quick turns in the ocean. Even humans have taken inspiration from tails and added them to present-day airplanes and submarines, among others.
A turtle’s tail is also more than just a part of its body. It serves many more functions ranging from reproduction to locomotion. Today, let us dive into the fascinating world of turtle tails and see what purpose they serve!
Table of Contents
Do All Turtles Have Tails & What Is The Purpose Of Their Tails
Yes, all turtles have tails, no matter what species they belong to. Compared to other reptiles, their tails are not as long. A turtle’s tail helps with the process of mating and navigating rough terrain; it can also help with defense.
Do Turtles Have Tails?
Whether they live on land or in the sea, all species of turtles sport a tail. Relative to other reptiles, the length of the tails in turtles is reduced. The specific size and girth of the tails vary from one individual to the next. The shape of the tails depends on the species and the gender of the turtle.
In general, male turtles have longer and thicker tails than females. However, the Snapping Turtles and the Big-Headed Turtles have the most extended tails among the different species. Their tails are almost as long or even longer than their shell and are covered in bony plates. Snappers usually make use of their tails to balance themselves on uphill walks.
Turtle tails have evolved over millions of years into their current forms. Over this time, they have lost a lot of their functionality. In prehistoric times, tails on the ancestors of turtles also had spikes for defense. This feature is missing in their modern counterparts. Still, many turtle species have spines on their tails which serve almost the same purpose.
What Is The Purpose Of A Turtle’s Tail?
Tails serve a lot of different purposes in a turtle’s life. The primary reason turtles have a tail in the first place is reproduction. Males and females both use their tails for various reproductive processes. Let us look at them in detail.
The main function of a male turtle’s tail is to house the reproductive organs. The penis of the turtle is situated at the base of the tail. This organ cannot be located inside the turtle’s shell, or the turtle would be unable to participate in the mating process. Thus it is protected by the turtle’s tail instead.
The turtle’s tail does not contain the reproductive organs in the female. Instead, the female reproductive organ is the cloaca, which has a vent-like opening. The cloaca has multiple other functions too.
The female also acts as the place from which eggs are pushed out. The cloaca is the primary point where the turtle releases waste in both males and females. And during hibernation, turtles even breathe in through their cloacas!
As you can probably guess, the cloaca is thus a very delicate and essential organ of the turtle’s body. It has soft skin and can be attacked by predators looking for a quick snack. For this reason, the turtle’s tail also helps protect the cloaca by covering up the vents.
It acts as the primary layer of defense for the rear part of the turtle’s body. The turtles usually keep their tail down when they’re not excreting or mating. Land-based turtles can also retract their tails into the shell when needed, but sea turtles cannot do this.
The tail is also helpful in many other situations. When on land, turtles use their tails to help navigate rough terrains. The turtles sometimes need to try and reach unusual spots in search of food or sunlight. They may even need to climb up rocks and trees.
In these cases, the tail proves to be a valuable tool for maintaining balance and stabilizing their movement. This prevents them from falling and injuring themselves.
Under the sea, turtles don’t use their tails to balance themselves the way fish do. But sea turtles have other uses for the tail. For example, female sea turtles come to shore to lay eggs. They also dig egg chambers for this purpose.
But after laying eggs, they need to use their flippers to pack them back up and protect the eggs from predators. During this, the females are often seen using their tails to level the ground where they just laid the eggs to cover it up.
But, the most crucial role that the tail plays in a turtle’s life cycle is mating. So, let us find out how!
How Do Turtles Use Their Tails For Reproduction?
As we already saw, a turtle’s tail contains the male reproductive organ. It also covers up the female reproductive opening. During mating, the female lifts her tail upwards or to the side. This is done to expose the cloaca to the male and make it more accessible.
The tip of the tail is a susceptible area for a turtle, no matter its gender. So it is usually hard for the male turtle to locate the female turtle’s cloaca. But they can use the sensitive tip to sense around for the opening and guide themselves to it.
The males also use their tails to open up the cloaca. This makes sure that the male’s sperm will successfully reach the female’s egg. Once they’ve found it, the mating process can begin.
In the case of sea turtles, the tail is slightly prehensile. This means they can use it to grab things. This ability helps the male sea turtles mount and hold on to the female against the water currents and complete insemination.
Another passive function of the turtle’s tail is to shoo away other potential mates during reproduction. The male’s longer and thicker tail blocks the opening to the female’s cloaca during mating. This prevents other males from being able to copulate with the same female.
Will My Turtle’s Tail Grow Back?
If your pet turtle nips its tail or injures it in an accident, you might wonder if the tail may grow back in due time. After all, lizards can regrow lost tails, so why not turtles? But unfortunately, turtles cannot regain their tail once it’s been injured.
However, a wounded or injured tail may recover slightly with proper care and medication. Unfortunately, the entire tail will never regrow to its original size, significantly if the tip has been injured or cut off. But wounds will heal up, and scar tissue will become fainter with time, making it less noticeable.
A minor injury may heal up entirely in a few weeks, while a significant injury may take a year. The good news is that the turtle will have restored the tail’s full function at the end of it!
If the injury is terrible, you should always rush your pet turtle to the nearest professional vet. But in the case of a minor mishap, you may be able to treat the turtle at home, yourself. In this case, take the turtle out of its tank and gently dry off the injured area.
Be careful not to hurt the turtle since the wound is bound to be raw and sore. After that, apply any topical antibiotic ointment to the injured portion. For instance, you may use some Neosporin with the help of a Q-tip.
Afterward, place the turtle in a warm box away from any other turtles you may own. Cover the box with a soft towel and leave it for an hour to properly let the medications soak in.
Repeat this procedure for a few days. Carefully monitor the injury if it swells up or reddens, as it might indicate an infection. If the damage worsens or does not heal properly, always take the turtle to an experienced vet.
Do All Turtles Have Tails?
After reading all this, you might still be wondering if any turtles don’t grow a tail. Sometimes, you may come across turtles who are missing their tails. It might be because they’ve lost their tail in an accident or a skirmish with a predator.
Sometimes, turtles may grow aggressive and attack each other during the mating season. Other times, they may mistake the tail for food, especially if they are living together in close quarters like an aquarium. These situations may lead to the loss of a tail.
It may also be because some turtles are genetically predisposed to not having the ability to grow tails. However, these are all exceptional cases and not the norm.
The tail may also be easy to miss in some species, such as box turtles. Even though male box turtles have longer and thicker tails than the female members, they are still relatively small. This means the female’s tail is nearly impossible to catch sometimes!
But almost every healthy turtle has a functional tail. So make sure not to go about picking up turtles to check their tails, especially if you’re not experienced in handling animals. It may cause injury to the turtle and you too if an aggressive turtle decides to bite!
Turtles generally grow visibly noticeable tails after achieving sexual maturity. This is why baby turtles may appear to not have a tail for the first 6 to 7 years of their lives. But rest assured, they will soon grow prominent full-length tails as they become adults.
All baby turtles start with a tail as hatchlings! And you’ll even be able to differentiate their gender based on the length of their tail in a few years.
Why Are Male Turtle Tails Longer Than Female Tails?
If you take a male and female turtle of the same species, the male tends to have a more enormous, girthier tail than the female. This rule is followed across all species and is one of the easiest ways to differentiate turtles sexually.
Their pre-cloacal tail length most accurately distinguishes even baby turtles. In addition, the distance from the rear end of the plastron to the cloaca is slightly greater in males than it is in females. But why is it so?
As we saw, the male turtle’s tail contains its reproductive organ. The base of the tail is also generally attached closer to the edge of the shell. Their vents are also closer to their body.
This contrasts with the females, where the tail doesn’t house any organs but merely shelters the cloaca. This is why, over time, the female turtle’s tail has evolved to be shorter and thinner.
Both the male and the female turtles usually start with nearly the same length of tails when they are born. But once a turtle reaches sexual maturity, the male turtle’s tail experiences a growth spurt.
This is in tandem with the turtle’s penis also growing in size since the tail must cover the entirety of the organ at all times. As a result, the male tail becomes much more prominent in a short period than the female.
Why Are Snapping Turtle’s Tails So Long?
In the world of turtles, Snapping Turtles probably sport the most extended tails. They generally have yellowish, jagged seats. It may remind you of a dinosaur’s tail. Like all other species, the bottom tends to be longer in males than the females.
At an average length of about 11 inches, the tail is about as long as a Snapper’s shell! Given this extraordinary length, Snapping Turtles – especially the males – may even be able to reach their tails themselves! This is usually not the case for any other species.
But why do Snapping Turtles need such a long tail? One reason is that male Snapping Turtles generally have longer penises. Therefore, the tail needs to grow long to protect the reproductive organ adequately.
But this doesn’t explain why the female Snapping Turtles also have a longer than usual tail. The complete answer has a lot to do with the Snapping Turtle’s natural habitat.
Snapping Turtles usually live around shallow ponds and streams. They typically need to reach tough spots in this environment to find a good place for basking. They may also need to travel around while hunting for prey. And this species has been known to cover long distances to find new habitats or when the females want to lay eggs.
In most of these situations, walking uphill is a daunting task. However, a longer tail allows the Snapping Turtle to balance itself properly, increasing its chances of not falling. Thus a longer tail is key to the Snapping Turtle’s survival.
There’s a very prevalent misconception regarding a Snapping Turtle’s tail. Snappers are aggressive by nature, and their bites can cause damage to even a human. But some people believe that picking a Snapper up by its tail is the safest way to handle it and does not hurt the animal.
However, this doesn’t seem right. In reality, doing this has a very high chance of permanently injuring the Snapping Turtle’s tail and vertebrae. For this reason, you should never attempt this action.
Can A Turtle Survive Without A Tail?
As the previous discussion shows, a turtle’s tail is significant to survival. And a turtle who has lost its tail can never grow it back to its former glory. But does this mean that a turtle without a tail cannot live? This question requires a little more analysis to answer.
A turtle that has lost a part of its tail can survive and live a healthy life. This is as long as the turtle’s cloacal opening hasn’t been injured. If the cloaca is damaged, the turtle will be unable to pass urine or feces and die of toxic waste building up in its body.
But, a male turtle who has lost his tail will never be able to mate or reproduce. This is because a loss of the tail also means a failure of the reproductive organs. So, it is always good to have a vet evaluate your turtle in such a situation.
Conclusion
So as we’ve seen, the tail is an essential part of every turtle’s life. It is present in all the different species and serves other functions. For example, it plays a vital role in mating and protecting reproductive organs.
It is also easy to differentiate between males and females based on their tails since males have longer and thicker tails. But a turtle cannot regain a lost tail, which is why it’s necessary to provide proper care to any pet turtle you may have.