Leatherback Seaturtle: Dermochelyidae - Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Saving Leatherbacks, Behavior And Reproduction, Conservation Status - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, LEATHERBACK SEATURTLES AND PEOPLE
turtle world
This species lives in oceans around the world.
Because this turtle is found in so many areas of the world, it has many names. In Trinidad, for example, people call it caldon, while in the Caribbean and Latin America the turtle is known as canal. This familiarity can pose a problem, however. Although it is illegal in most countries, some people continue to raid the turtles' nests for their eggs or hunt them for their meat or the oil in their shells.
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The leatherback seaturtle, which is the only member of its family, is extremely large. The carapace (KARE-a-pays), or upper shell, measures up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) long, and the turtle itself weighs just under a ton, at 1,911 pounds (867 kilograms). Most seaturtles have a hard and bony upper shell, but this turtle's carapace has a smooth, leathery skin. It also has an unusual outline. The…
The leatherback seaturtle is found over more of the world than perhaps any other species of reptile. It can live quite well in the warm ocean waters of the tropics and in cooler ocean waters as far north of the equator as Alaska and Iceland and as far south as New Zealand and the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. It rarely comes into shallow, shoreline waters, staying instead in dee…
Like other turtles, the leatherback seaturtle is cold-blooded, meaning that its body temperature gets cooler when the outside temperature drops and warmer when the outside temperature rises. In most turtles, body temperature very closely matches the outdoor temperature. The seaturtles are a little different. Because they are so large and their muscles heat up when they swim, they can stay warm muc…
According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), this species is Critically Endangered, which means it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the leatherback turtle as Endangered, meaning that the turtle is in danger of extinction through all or most of its range, or the region over which it roams and feeds. The number of leatherback turtl…
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