International Turtle Day: what is the animal's maximum speed?

International Turtle Day, which celebrates one of the longest-lived reptiles in nature, is celebrated this Saturday (23). Known for its slowness, a turtle's speed is mainly determined by the environment in which it lives.

According to biological records, a sea turtle can swim at up to 20 km/h, while terrestrial species, such as the tortoise, have an average displacement of just 0.27 km/h.

The speed of these animals varies depending on the species and habitat; while sea creatures reach 20 km/h, land travel a few meters per day - Pexels - Jean-Paul Wettstein
This difference occurs because slowness on the ground is an evolutionary survival strategy, supported by efficient hull protection.

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Performance in water and on land
The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is one of the examples of agility at sea, reaching reasonable speeds for the aquatic environment.

In contrast, terrestrial chelonians are among the slowest animals on the planet. The pirang tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius), common in Brazil, moves at a rate of approximately 84 meters per hour.

There are cases of even more extreme slowness, such as that of the American swamp turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii). This species can take an entire day to travel just 17 meters, although records indicate that individuals in dispersion situations can cover greater distances, such as 400 meters in 24 hours, when returning to their original habitat.

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Why are turtles slow?
Science explains that terrestrial chelonians do not need speed because their shell offers safe protection against predators.

This passive defense eliminates the need to expend energy on rapid escapes, allowing these animals to maintain a low metabolism and high energy efficiency.

In addition, an animal's speed is usually proportional to its size. Although slow by vertebrate standards, tortoises still outperform smaller invertebrates.

A tortoise, for example, is almost six times faster than a snail and about 27 times faster than a slug.

200 million year old strategy
This characteristic slowness did not prevent the group's success. Chelonians emerged in the Triassic period and even survived the extinction of the dinosaurs without undergoing major morphological changes.

The biological priority of these animals is not speed, but persistence, as demonstrated by the example of Jonathan, a giant tortoise that reached 190 years of age, becoming the oldest living land animal in the world, according to Guinness records.

Source: CNN