THE ORDER Turtles There are about 341 species of turtles. This unique and ancient lineage began 330 million years ago. In this order, there are two suborders - Dive-necked turtles and Side-necked turtles.

In the United States, sea turtles are most commonly known as the diver-necked turtle, which includes 250 species, including box turtles, snapping turtles, sea turtles, and desert tortoises.

The side neck turtles are so called because they cannot retract their shells around their necks, instead they fold them along their sides. This group of 91 turtles contains some very strange looking examples, such as 17 species of snake-necked turtles. Most of these are Australian with some Asian and South American species. All have very long necks, and in some, their necks are longer than their shells.

At the Wildlife Conservation Society's Reptile World at the Bronx Zoo, visitors can see one of the most extreme examples of the side-necked group, the broad-shelled snake-necked tortoise genus Apricot. These turtles use their agility, long necks and jaws to quickly catch prey such as fish and small green shrimp.

At the Bronx Zoo's Mangrove JungleWorld exhibit, we showcase a smaller species, C. mccordi. This species is currently critically endangered and is on the list of the 20 most endangered sea turtles in the world. We want to build a future where they return to the wild.

Stop by the Bronx Zoo to see both these wonderful and strange looking turtles.