Species of Sea Turtles

Species of Sea Turtles

Turtles are reptiles, with hard bony shells, developed from their ribs that act as a shield and protect them from the predators. Turtles are one of the oldest reptile groups and earliest known members are from the Middle Jurassic. There are 360 extant species that live in fresh-water and sea-water but some species live in or around water. They spend most of their lives in water and the sea turtles rarely leave the ocean. They only come out on the beaches to lay eggs. Freshwater turtles live in freshwater of ponds, lakes, rivers, streams and any other water bodies.

Where Do Turtles Live

 What Do Turtles Eat

Green Sea Turtles Facts

How many Species of Sea Turtles are there?

There are seven different species of sea turtles are found from the Indian Ocean to the colorful reefs of the Coral Triangle and also the sandy beaches of Eastern Pacific. The seven species are:-

1) Loggerhead turtle

2) Green turtle

3) Hawksbill turtle

4) Leatherbacks turtle

5) Flatback turtle

6) Kemp’s ridley turtle

7) Olive ridley turtle

1) Loggerhead sea turtle

Loggerhead turtles are named for their large muscular heads. The Loggerhead turtle is one of the largest hard-shelled turtles in the world and the second extant largest turtle after leatherback sea turtle. Their average weight is 80 to 200kg and they can grow up to 3ft long. The colour of their heart-shaped carapace is reddish-brown. Adult male loggerhead turtles have long tails. They normally spend the day underwater and can hold their breathe up to 4 hours. They reach maturity at the age of 35 to 40 years. The female turtles travel up to 1000miles to reach their native beaches where they was born, to lay eggs. In a season, females lay two to five clutches of 130 to 140 eggs. After 2 months incubating, the eggs hatch.

The Loggerhead turtles is a wide-ranging species. Loggerhead turtles live all over the temperate subtropical and tropical regions of the Atlantic Oceans, Pacific Oceans and Indian Oceans and also in the Mediterranean Sea. They live in open oceans and in shallow coastal waters. Loggerhead turtles are found in along the south-eastern coast of North America and in the Gulf of Mexico and their range extends from Newfoundland to Argentina. The major nesting site of Loggerhead turtles is Florida, where more than 67,000 nests built per year. Three most important nesting grounds are found in Yakushima Islands, where 40% of all leatherhead turtles visited. A study suggests that 95% of Loggerhead turtle population along the coast of Americas hatch on Japanese Islands. Their major nesting site is Oman, with 15000 nests, making the site the second largest nesting population of Loggerhead in the world.

Loggerhead Turtles are mainly carnivores. They have strong jaws that help them to crush the conches, bivalves, horseshoe crabs and other hard-shelled preys. They also eat jellyfish, shrimps, fish, sponges, seaweed and sargassum.

 The loggerhead turtles can live 70 to 80 years.

2) Green sea turtle

 Green sea turtle is also called the black sea turtle or Pacific green turtle. This species of sea turtle is the only species in the genus Chelonia. They are found tropical and subtropical seas around the world. Green sea turtles have green fat beneath their carapace so they are called green turtle. The color of their carapace is olive to black. Adult green sea turtles can grow up to 5ft long and weight can reach over 315kg. The green sea turtle has flattened body, a beaked head and paddle-like arms. Green sea turtles can swim at speeds ranging from 2.5 km to 3 km per hour.

 Green sea turtles are found near the coastline and around the islands. They prefer to spend most of their time in shallow coastal water where they can get sea grass.

 Female green sea turtle lays eggs on their native beaches, 3 to 5 times per season and an average of 115 eggs in each nest. The eggs incubate for 6o days. The female turtles travel a long distance to reach their native beaches to lay eggs. It digs a hole on the sandy beach and lays eggs in the hole and then covers the hole with sand. Now it leaves the nesting ground.

Green turtle is omnivores but adults eat only plants. Green turtles eat sea grasses, seaweed, algae, crabs, sponges, and jellyfish. They are also found in coral reefs, where they get red, brown and green algae to eat.

 Green sea turtles are found in over 80 countries and live in warm subtropical and tropical ocean waters. Green sea turtles live in the Atlantic Oceans, Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans. In the United States, Green sea turtles are found on the Hawaiian Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the east coast of Florida, Georgia, South California and North Carolina.

Green sea turtle can live more than 80 years.

3) Hawksbill sea turtle

Hawksbill sea turtle belongs to the family Cheloniidae and is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys.  They can grow up to 3 feet and can weigh up to 70kg. Hawksbill sea turtle has narrow head. They have sharp carving beak so they are named for their narrow pointed beak. Their heart-shaped carapace is serrated and overlapping scutes. Their strikingly colored carapace and the distinctive pattern of the shall make them highly valuable that generally sold as “tortoiseshell” in the markets. Male Hawksbill sea turtle has a long and thick tail and longer claws, each flipper has a pair of claws.

Hawksbill Turtles are found mainly in tropical reefs of the Indian Ocean, Pacific Oceans and Atlantic Oceans. In the Atlantic Oceans, Hawksbill Turtles are found in the Brazilian coast, southern Florida and the waters off Virginia and Texas. In the Pacific, Hawksbill turtles live in Mexico and main nesting populations are found along the Eastern Pacific coast of the Americas from Mexico to Ecuador include El Salvador, Nicaragua. Hawksbills turtles are are also found from the south western tips of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago, New Zealand. Australia and Solomon Islands are the largest nesting ground of Hawksbill turtles. The Hawksbill Turtles do not live in Mediterranean Sea.

Hawksbill turtles like to eat sea sponges but they are omnivores. Hawksbill turtles are found near coral reefs because their favorite food sea sponges are found there. As they are omnivores, Hawksbill turtle prefer to eat jellyfish, small fish,  marine algae, sea urchins crustaceans, mollusks etc.

 Female Hawksbill sea turtles return to their native beaches in every two to five years to nest. Female turtle lays 130 to 160 eggs in a pit and covers the pit with sand and leave the beach. The eggs hatch in about two months and the hatchlings make their journey from the nest to the sea.

Hawksbill sea turtles can live 30 to 50 years.

4) Leatherbacks sea turtle

Leatherback sea turtle is also called lute turtle or leathery turtle, is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys. The leatherback turtle is the most unique turtle. They have no body shell. Their carapace has a smooth, leathery skin that covers a flexible matrix of bone.Their body is covered with skin and oily flesh instead of bony shell. Leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle species and can grow up to 7feet long and weight reaches 2000 pounds. Their inky-blue carapace is flexible and almost rubbery. They can dive 4200feet under the water and can hold their breathe up to 85 minutes. Their large body size and a thick layer of fat help them to maintain warm body temperature in cold water.

Leatherback turtle eat mainly jellyfish or gelatinous prey so they are also referred to as gelatinivores. They eat soft-bodied invertebrates such as tunicates and sea squirts, fish, crustaceans, seaweeds. They have sharp, backward pointing spines, one on the upper jaw and one on the lower, jaw that help them to pierce, swallow the jellyfish and prevent the prey from escaping from their mouth.

Leatherback turtles live in the tropic and temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean and also in Mediterranean Sea. Off the Atlantic coast of Canada, Leatherback turtles are found in the Gulf of Saint, Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador. The nesting ground of Pacific leatherback turtles are found in Papua, Indonesia and Solomon Islands, Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama. In Indian Ocean, Leatherback turtles live in Sri Lanka and Nicobar Islands.

Female Leatherback sea turtles travel 3700 miles between breeding and feeding areas. It digs the hole on the beach and lays 80 eggs inside the hole and covers the hole, then leave the beach. The temperature inside the nest determines the gender of the hatching, higher temperatures produce females and cooler temperatures produce males

Leatherback sea turtles can live up to 45 years.

5) Flatback sea turtle

The flatback turtle can be identified by its smooth flat domed shell or carapace which can grow 90cm in length. its carapace is thinner than other sea turtle. The color of their carapace is olive green or a mixture of grey and green but the underside which is called plastron is pale yellow in color. The females of this species are larger than the males.

Flatback turtles are indigenous to Australia and are only found in the coastal waters of Eastern, Western and Northern Australia. They are found in the waters of Papua New Guinea in the Pacific.

Flatback turtle is omnivores and can eat sea cucumber, mollusks, bryozoans, jellyfish, prawns and other invertebrates. Flatback turtles also eat seaweeds, soft corals, sea pens and sea grasses.

Female flatback turtle lays about 50 to 75 large eggs in a single nest on the sandy beach. The hatchings then take about 7 weeks to emerge and make their way up to the sea. Flatback hatchlings are pale grey in colour with dark edges

Flatback turtles can live up to 80 years.

6) Kemp’s ridley sea turtle

Kemp's ridley sea turtle or the Atlantic ridley sea turtle is the rarest and  most endangered turtle species in the world. Floridian fisherman and naturalist Richard M. Kemp  first submitted to Kemp's ridley turtle in 180 for identification so the turtle is called Kemp's ridley turtle.

Kemp's ridley is the smallest sea turtle species. They can grow 2 feet long and their weight can reach up to 100 pounds. The color of their carapace, is greenish-grey color, and their underparts are off-white to yellowish.

The turtles eat fish, shrimps, jellyfish, crabs, molluscs, squids, and shellfish and also eat seaweed and sargassum. Their favourite food is crabs.

Kemp’s ridley turtles primarily live in the nearshore and inshore of the northern Gulf of Mexico and Nova Scotia and from the southern coast of Florida Peninsula to the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and in the western gulf waters of Texas, Tamaulipas, Veracruz. Their nesting found on the beach near Rancho Nuevo, Mexico, in the state of Tamaulipas and in Texas along the Padre Island National Seashore.

 Females reach sexually maturity about ten to twelve years of age. They nest every one to three years between May and July, and each season, they lay many clutches of 100 eggs that incubate for 50-60 days. They travel hundreds of miles to reach their nesting ground to lay eggs.

Kemp’s ridley turtles can live up to 30 years.

7) Olive ridley sea turtle

The olive ridley sea turtle or the Pacific ridley sea turtle,is the second smallest and most abundant sea turtle species found in the world. Their skin and carapace is greenish in color so they are called olive ridley sea turtle. It is closely related to the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle but has a slightly smaller head and shell than the Kemp’s ridley turtles. They can grow 2 feet and weight is 100 pounds.

The nesting season of the the olive ridley sea turtle is from June to December. Female lays about 100 eggs on the beaches.

Olive ridley turtles live in  New Zealand, Arabia, India and Japan as well as southern Africa and Australia. In the Eastern Pacific, Olive ridley turtles live in Baja California, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua and Colombia. In the Indian Ocean, Olive ridley turtles are found in eastern India and Sri Lanka. The coast of Odisha in India is the largest nesting ground of the Olive ridley turtle. Other nesting grounds are found in Guatemala, Brazil, Pakistan, Malaysia, Myanmar etc.

The Olive ridley turtles eat fish, jellyfish, crabs, snails, shrimps, urchins, lobster and also algae, seaweeds and other marine vegetation. Their lifespan is up to 51 years.

Conclusion

Sea turtle population is severely reduced worldwide. 6 turtle species out of 7 are classified as threatened or endangered due to human actions and lifestyles. Loggerhead sea turtles and green sea turtles are listed as threatened and Leatherback, hawksbill and Kemp's Ridley sea turtle species are endangered. Water pollution from garbage, chemicals and discarded fishing nets, lines and hooks are often eaten by sea turtles, causing their health issues or even death. Turtle’s population have reduced in the past few decades due to human’s demand for their meat, skin, eggs and shells. Of the 356 turtle species in the modern era, astonishingly 61% are extinct or endangered.