Sea Turtles
Main Information
Sea Turtles are one of Earth's most ancient creatures. Seven of the Turtle species have lasted over 120 million years; that is longer than the dinosaur survival period. The turtle's shell, or its carapace, is used to swim through the water. Unlike their relatives, turtles cannot retract their head and legs into their shell. Sea Turtles lay tons of eggs each time, but only a few of them survive to adulthood.
Diet
The sea turtles have totally different diets, depending on their subspecies. For example, some may be carnivores (meat eating) and eat jellyfish, crabs, shrimp, mollusks, snails, and other sea animals. But others may be herbivores (plant eating) and eat seaweed, algae, coral, sea grasses, and other sea plants. The rest could also be omnivores (plant and meat eating) and eat all types of different food. The jaw of a sea turtle is shaped differently, according to the type of diet the turtle has. Green sea turtles have finely serrated jaws that are meant to consume a vegetarian diet. The hawksbill turtle has jaws that meet at an acute angle with a narrow head. That type of a jaw is meant for finding food from crevices in the coral reefs. Sea turtles can change their diet as they grow older. For example, the green sea turtles are carnivorous until adulthood. But as soon as they touch their adult stage, the convert themselves to have a herbivorous diet. In fact, they are the only adult turtle to be herbivores.
Behavior
Sea turtles spend most of there time in the water. They are known to feed and rest on a typical day. A sea turtle's behavior is obtained by people observing hatchlings leaving the water and females laying their eggs. Sea turtles will return to the same nesting grounds to lay their eggs at when they were born. When it is not nesting season sea turtles may migrate hundreds an thousands of miles. They can sleep at the surface while in deep water. Hatchlings sleep floating on the surface, and usually have their front flippers folded back over the top of their backs. They are not generally considerd social animals.
Mating
Mating season is generally from March-October. The temperature of where hatchlings are stored depends on sex of the sea turtle. Below about 85 degrees Fahrenheit is where male babies are stored and above about 85 degrees Celsius is where female babies are stored. The growth of the sea turtle is from 6-10 weeks. Sea turtles produce 70-190 eggs (depending on the species).
Color
A sea turtle's color varies between green, black, and green depending on the species. Rarely will you find a Green Sea turtle with a solid colored shell. Some turtles are red, but that is only in rare occasions.
Turtles in Numbers
Kemps Ridley is the smallest sea turtle species. They are about 30 inches long. The largest sea turtle species to be known are the Leatherback sea turtles. They are about 6 feet long. The average weight of sea turtles is from about 100-400 pounds. The Kemps Ridley sea turtles weigh about 80-100 lbs.The Leatherback sea turtles weighas much as 2000 pounds!! The lifespan of all sea turtles is up to 80 years.