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Leatherback sea turtle

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The leatherback sea turtle is the largest of all living sea turtles. It is the fourth largest modern reptile behind three crocodilians.[5][6]

Leatherback sea turtle
Female, digging in the sand
Conservation status
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Family: Dermochelyidae
Subfamily: Dermochelyinae
Genus: Dermochelys
Blainville, 1816[3]
Species:
D. coriacea
Binomial name
Dermochelys coriacea
(Vandelli, 1761)[3]
Dermochelys coriacea map.svg
Synonyms[4]
List of synonyms
Photo of a person's hands holding a small sand-covered grey/green turtle
Baby leatherback turtle at Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex in Boca Raton, Florida

Adults average 1–1.75 metres (3.3–5.7 ft) in shell length, 1.83–2.2 metres (6.0–7.2 ft) in total length and weigh 250 to 700 kilograms (550 to 1,540 lb).[7][8] The largest ever found was over 3 metres (9.8 ft) from head to tail and weighed 916 kilograms (2,019 lb).[9] It was found on a beach on the west coast of Wales.[10]

The eggs and young are often eaten by predators, but the adults can defend themselves aggressively. Only the largest sea predators can tackle a leatherback successfully.[11]

Leatherback turtles are one of the deepest diving marine animals. They have been recorded diving to depths as great as 1,280 metres (4,200 ft).[12]

They are also the fastest-moving reptiles. The 1992 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records lists the leatherback turtle moving at 35.28 kilometres per hour (21.92 mph) in the water.[13][14] Usually, they swim at 0.5–2.8 metres per second (1.1–6.3 mph).[15]

They can live as far north as Alaska and Norway and as far south as the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and the southernmost tip of New Zealand.[7] The leatherback is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and it also goes well into the Arctic Circle.[16]

Very little is known about how long they live. Some reports say "30 years or more",[17] while others say "50 years or more".[18]

Leatherback Sea Turtle Media

  • Size of leatherback compared to human

  • Esophagus of a leatherback sea turtle showing spines to retain prey

  • Hatchlings crawling to the sea

  • Leatherback sea turtle covering her eggs, Turtle Beach, Tobago

  • Leatherback turtle at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge

  • A leatherback turtle with eggs, photo taken on Salines de Montjoly beach (French Guiana)

  • Decaying plastic bag resembling jellyfish

References

  1. ↑ Wallace, B.P.. 'Dermochelys coriacea'. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013 (2013)IUCN. p. e.T6494A43526147. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T6494A43526147.en.
  2. ↑ Species Search.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rhodin, A. G. J.. Turtles of the world, 2010 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status. Chelonian Research Monographs 5 (14 December 2010). p. 000.xx. ISBN 978-0965354097. doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v3.2010.
  4. ↑ Uwe, Fritz. Checklist of Chelonians of the World. Vertebrate Zoology 57 (2) (2007). p. 174–176. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  5. ↑ WWF - Leatherback turtle. Marine Turtles (16 February 2007)World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  6. ↑ The Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) (24 January 2004)turtles.org. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Species Fact Sheet: Leatherback Sea Turtle. Caribbean Conservation Corporation & Sea Turtle Survival League (29 December 2005)Caribbean Conservation Corporation. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  8. ↑ Wood, Gerald. The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats (1983)Guinness Superlatives. ISBN 978-0-85112-235-9.
  9. ↑ Eckert K.L. and Luginbuhl C. 1988. Death of a giant. Marine Turtle Newsletter 43. p. 2–3.
  10. ↑ Mystery of Wales turtle 'solved' (2004)BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  11. ↑ Sea TurtleSeaworld. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
  12. ↑ Doyle, T.K. et al 2008. Leatherback Turtles satellite tagged in European waters. Endangered Species Research 4 (2008). p. 23–31. doi:10.3354/esr00076.
  13. ↑ Shweky, Rachel. Speed of a Turtle or Tortoise. The Physics Factbook (1999). Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  14. ↑ McFarlan, Donald. Guinness Book of Records 1992 (1991). New York: Guinness.
  15. ↑ Swim speed and movement patterns of gravid leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) at St Croix, US Virgin Islands, Scott A. Eckert, The Journal of Experimental Biology 205, 3689-3697 (2002)
  16. ↑ Willgohs J.F.. Occurrence of the Leathery Turtle in the northern North Sea and off western Norway. Nature 179 (4551) (1957). p. 163–164. doi:10.1038/179163a0. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  17. ↑ Dermochelys coriacea. Dermochelys coriacea. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  18. ↑ Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Leatherback sea turtle. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
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