A freshwater turtle with a relatively long head and neck that is retracted sideways into the shell for defence.
Suborder Pleurodira: families Chelidae (South America and Australasia) and Pelomedusidae (South America and southern Africa), and several genera
Example sentencesExamples
- The 70 or so species of side-necked turtles bend their necks sideways and tuck their heads in under the front edge of the upper shell.
- Modern side-necked turtles are found only in the southern hemisphere and withdraw their heads sideways under the shell.
- The carapace of this appealing side-necked turtle is a medium to charcoal gray color with no design.
- The side-necked turtles retracted their heads sideways, while the arch-necked turtles folded their necks in an S-like shape.
- This turtle is a side-necked turtle, as are all turtle species of New Guinea and Australia.