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- Loggerhead or crossbred tortoise
- Leather turtle
- Hawksbill turtle or tortoise
- olive turtle
- Kemp's turtle or small sea turtle
- Australian sea turtle
- green turtle
The marine and oceanic waters are inhabited by a great variety of living beings. Among them are those that are the subject of this article: the distinct types of sea turtles. A peculiarity of sea turtles is that males always return to the beaches where they were born to mate. This does not necessarily happen with females, which can vary from beach to spawn. Another curiosity is that the sex of sea turtles is determined by the temperature reached at the spawning grounds.
A peculiarity of sea turtles is that they cannot retract their head inside their shell, which land turtles can do. In this PeritoAnimal article, we will show you the current species of sea turtles and their main features.
Another phenomenon that happens to sea turtles is a kind of tears that fall from their eyes. This happens when you eliminate excess salt from your body through this mechanism. All these sea turtles are long-lived, exceeding at least 40 years of life and some easily double that age. To a lesser or greater degree, all sea turtles are threatened.
Loggerhead or crossbred tortoise
THE loggerhead turtle or cross-bred turtle (caretta caretta) is a turtle that inhabits the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. In the Mediterranean Sea specimens were also detected. They measure approximately 90 cm and weigh, on average, 135 kilos, although specimens exceeding 2 meters and over 500 kilos have been observed.
It takes its name from the loggerhead turtle because its head is the largest size among sea turtles. Males are distinguished by the size of their tail, which is thicker and longer than females.
The food of crossbred turtles is very varied. Starfish, barnacles, sea cucumbers, jellyfish, fish, shellfish, squid, algae, flying fish and newborn turtles (including their own species). This turtle is threatened.
Leather turtle
The leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) is, among the types of sea turtles, the biggest and heaviest. Its usual size is 2.3 meters and weighs more than 600 kilos, although giant specimens weighing in excess of 900 kilos have been registered. It mainly feeds on jellyfish. The leatherback shell, as its name suggests, has a feel similar to leather, it is not hard.
It spreads farther into the oceans than the rest of the sea turtles. The reason is that they are better able to withstand temperature changes, as their body thermoregulatory system is more efficient than the others. This species is threatened.
Hawksbill turtle or tortoise
THE hawksbill or legitimate turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a precious animal among the types of sea turtles that is in danger of extinction. There are two subspecies. One of them inhabits the tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the other the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific area. These turtles have migratory habits.
Hawksbill turtles measure between 60 and 90 cm, weighing between 50 and 80 kilos. Even though cases weighing up to 127 kilos have been registered. Its paws are converted to fins. They like to inhabit the waters of tropical reefs.
They feed on prey that are very dangerous for their high toxicity, such as jellyfish, including the deadly Portuguese caravel. Poisonous sponges also enter your diet, in addition to anemones and sea strawberries.
Given the hardness of its wonderful hull, it has few predators. Sharks and marine crocodiles are their natural predators, but human action with overfishing, fishing gear, urbanization of spawning beaches and contamination led to hawksbill turtles on the brink of extinction.
olive turtle
THE olive turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is the smallest of the types of sea turtles. They measure on average 67 centimeters and their weight varies around 40 kilos, although specimens weighing up to 100 kilos have been registered.
Olive turtles are omnivorous. They feed indistinctly on algae or crabs, shrimp, fish, snails and lobsters. They are coastal turtles, populating the coastal areas of all continents, except Europe. She is also threatened.
Kemp's turtle or small sea turtle
THE kemp's turtle (Lepidochelys Kempii) is a small-sized sea turtle as suggested by one of the names by which it is known. It can measure up to 93 cm, with an average weight of 45 kilos, although there are specimens that have weighed 100 kilos.
It only spawns during the daytime, unlike other sea turtles that use the night to spawn. Kemp's turtles feed on sea urchins, jellyfish, algae, crabs, molluscs and crustaceans. This species of sea turtle is in critical state of conservation.
Australian sea turtle
The Australian Sea Turtle (Natator depression) is a turtle that is distributed, as its name indicates, in the waters of northern Australia. This turtle measures between 90 and 135 cm and weighs from 100 to 150 kilos. It has no migratory habits, except for spawning which occasionally forces it to travel up to 100 km. Males never return to earth.
It is precisely your eggs that suffer greater predation. Foxes, lizards and humans consume them. Its common predator is the marine crocodile. The Australian sea turtle prefers shallow waters. The color of their hooves is in the olive or brown color range. The exact degree of conservation of this species is not known. Reliable data is lacking to carry out correct assessments.
green turtle
The last of the types of sea turtles on our list is the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). She is a large-sized turtle that inhabits the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Its size can reach 1.70 cm in length, with an average weight of 200 kilos. However, specimens weighing up to 395 kilos have been found.
There are different genetically distinct subspecies depending on their habitat. It has migratory habits and, unlike other species of sea turtles, males and females come out of the water to sunbathe. In addition to humans, the tiger shark is the main predator of the green turtle.
If you want to find out more about the world of turtles, also see the differences between water and land turtles and how old a turtle lives.
