Marine Animals

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Marine Life Education

Marine Life

The ocean is an amazing place with hundreds of different types of animal species. Take a look at some of the popular marine life.

Sea Turtles

Sea turtles are marine reptiles.

Sea turtles are among the oldest creatures on earth, it is estimated they have remained unchanged for 110 million years.

 

Sea Turtle Classification:

Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Super Family: Chelonioidea

Other Names:

Sub-species of Sea Turtles: There are five species of sea turtles found in the Gulf of Mexico, all of which are either endangered or threatened.

Sub-Species of Sea Turtles

Black Sea Turtle - Chelonia mydas agassizii
Flatback Sea Turtle - Natator depressus
Green Sea Turtle - Chelonia mydas mydas
Hawksbill Sea Turtle - Eretmochelys imbricata
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle - Lepidochelys kempii
Leatherback Sea Turtle - Dermochelys coriacea
Loggerhead Sea Turtle - Caretta caretta
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle - Lepidochelys olivacea

Size: Adult male and female sea turtles are the same size. The smallest sea turtle is the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle measuring 30 inches long and weighing 80-100 lbs. The largest sea turtle is the Leatherback Sea Turtle measuring over six and a half feet long and weighing over 2,000 lbs.

Habitat: Sea turtles inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic. Sea turtles are found in warm and temperate waters throughout the world. Some sea turtle species will migrate hundreds of miles between nesting and feeding grounds.

Sea Turtles in Other Languages:

Czech: Morska zelva
Dutch: Zeeschildpad
Finnish: Merikilpikonna
French: Tortue Marine
Galician: Tartaruga Marina
German: Meeresschildkrote
Hungarian: Tengeri Teknos
Indonesian: Penyu
Italian: Tartaruga Marina
Navajo: Teeh tsisteel
Portuguese: Tartaruga-marinha
Slovenian: Morska zelva
Spanish: Tortuga Marina
Swahili: Kasa
Swedish: Havsskoldpadda
Turkish: Deniz Kaplumbagasi

Diet: Most sea turtles are carnivores, but the green turtle is an herbivore. The diet of the sea turtle varies with the species, but items sea turtles eat include: jellyfish, seaweed, crabs, shrimp, sponges, snails, algae and mollusks.

Description: Sea turtles are characterized by a large, streamlined shell and nonretractile head and limbs. Sea turtles can be yellow, greenish and black or a combination there of, depending on the species.

Gestation: Sea turtle eggs have a gestation of 6-10 weeks. Sea turtles will have leave between 70-190 eggs depending on the sea turtle species.

Did You Know?

Unlike other turtles, sea turtles cannot retract their legs and head into their protective shells.

Birth: Sea turtles, will return to the same nesting grounds, in which they were born. Females sea turtles come ashore, and dig out a nest. They lay their eggs and return to the ocean. After hatching, the young sea turtles may take as long as a week to dig themselves out of their nest. Eventually the baby sea turtles will emerge at night, and move toward the ocean. It has been estimated that only 1% of these hatchlings will reach adulthood.

Sexual Maturity: Different species of sea turtles sexually mature at different ages.

Life Span: Sea turtles live up to 80 years in the wild. Sea turtles are awkward and vulnerable on land. Additionally sharks will sometimes prey on sea turtles.

Social Structure: Sea turtles tend to be solitary.

 


Sea Turtles

Status: All species Endangered or Threatened













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