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Leatherback
Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
2.5 m
Testudo coriacea
D. Vandelli. 1761. Rendus Hebd, Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris 101(6): 2.
Type:
Museo Zoologico, Instituto di Zoologia, Zoologia Comparativo e Genetico,
Università di Padova (uncat.), from "Laurentum, between Lido di
Ostia and Tor Paterno, shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy" (not
extant at present and once located at ca. 41° 42’N; 12° 17’E, about
7 km from Lido di Ostia and 4 km from Tor Paterno).
Identification:
This is the largest of living turtles, as well as the largest and heaviest
living reptiles known to attain a curved carapace length of over 256 cm
and weigh 916 kilos. The shell is elongated, tapered towards the end,
bearing seven ridges on the carapace and five on the plastron. The entire
shell is covered with skin in adults, although distinct scales or
scale-like structures are found on the shells of hatchlings. The limbs are
paddle-like and clawless. Anatomically and morphologically, the
leatherback is so unique that scientists classify it in a family of its
own, separate from all the other marine turtles.
Natural
history: The turtle feeds on jellyfish, its primary food, in the northern
temperate waters, and is capable of diving up to 1,200 m below the surface
in search of food. Nests are excavated on beaches that have uninterrupted
open access from deep waters, and nests are deeper compared to other sea
turtles. Clutches comprise 90-130 eggs, each spherical, softshelled, 50-54
mm in diameter. Although usually white, some eggs have green spots. This
turtle is suspected to be threatened because of capture for its fat (that
is used in fixing leaks on wooden boats) although its flesh is not
favoured as an item of food, collection of eggs and modification of
nesting habitats. Leatherbacks are known to eat plastic bags, apparently
mistaking them for jellyfish and other forms of marine pollution may also
take their toll on the world’ s remaining leatherback populations.
Distribution:
Widely distributed in both the warm and cold seas, this is a turtle from
the open ocean, visiting islands, such as Borneo, only to nest.
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