Sea turtles are in the class Reptilia, and are cold-blooded, have scales, lay eggs and have a three-chambered heart. Their body consists of a carapace (top portion of shell) and plastron (belly). They have non-retractable limbs or flippers and lungs to breathe air. Often times when you see a sea turtle on land it looks as if it is crying, but actually the turtle is just excreting excess salt from glands near the eyes. While in the water, the salt just gets washed away. Sea turtles have been around for about 150 million years – they watched the dinosaurs come and go. They have flourished up until the last hundred years or so, at which time human interactions began wiping out population after population.
There are 7 species worldwide: Loggerhead, Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Kemp’s Ridley, Flatback, and Olive Ridley. The first 3 of which are the most common nesters on Florida beaches.
Loggerhead
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is named for its unusually large head. Their diet consists of crustaceans and mollusks and they average 200-300 pounds or so. Their major threats are incidental catch in shrimp trawl nets and over development of nesting habitat.
Green
The Green Sea Turtle is named for the color of its body fat. They are herbivorous and primarily eat sea grasses and algae. They often weigh 300-400 pounds. Traditionally, the green sea turtle was the most hunted turtle for its meat, the main ingredient in turtle soup, and individual populations struggled. Green sea turtles can also acquire fibropapilloma tumors which were first discovered in the 1930s. Scientists are still trying to learn the causes of these tumors. The tumors can be all sizes – as large as a grapefruit, and cover any soft tissue area –flippers, head, eyes, mouth, even internal organs.
Leatherback
The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the most extreme sea turtle, diving to depths of 4000 feet and living in cold waters off the coast of Nova Scotia at times, probably to feed on large populations of jellyfish. They weigh between 1000 and 2000 pounds.
Hawksbill
The Hawksbill Sea Turtle can be found around reefs feeding on sponges. Their populations have been threatened due to hunting of the turtles for their shells to make jewelry and to decorate the home.
