Some people believe that the word turtle is another word for tortoise they believe that the two words are names for the same animal but that is not true Turtles and tortoise are related and they are both reptiles However there are differences between these two animal Most turtles live in salt water and can swim They have hard shells and flippers for swimming Tortoise usually live on land Land tortoises not in salt water like turtles The tortoises which live in freshwater have webbed feet and tortoise hatch from eggs and both can grow to be very large Both animal have been around since prehistoric times