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- Leatherback Turtle. The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest sea turtle. These gigantic reptiles can reach lengths of over 6 feet and weights of over 2,000 pounds.
- Green Turtle. The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is large, with a carapace of up to 3 feet long. Green turtles weigh up to 350 pounds. Their carapace can include shades of black, gray, green, brown, or yellow.
- Loggerhead Turtles. Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are a reddish-brown turtle with a very large head. They are the most common turtle that nests in Florida.
- Hawksbill Turtle. The hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate) grows to lengths of 3 1/2 feet long and can weigh up to 180 pounds. Hawksbill turtles were named for the shape of their beak, which looks similar to the beak of a raptor.
Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea ), sometimes called marine turtles, [3] are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and olive ridley.
- Green Turtle. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) live in the warm coastal waters of tropical and subtropical oceans. Adults sometimes eat sponges, salps (floating jelly-like animals), and jellyfish, but they feed mostly on plants, like seagrass and algae.
- Kemp's Ridley Turtle. Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) are one of the smallest sea turtles, weighing only 100 lbs (45 kg). Adults spend most of their time in shallow coastal areas in places with mud, sand, or gravel bottoms—often in seagrass beds.
- Kemp's Ridley Nesting "Arribada" Every year, at the same place and time, thousands of female Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) come ashore to nest and lay their eggs on the beach.
- Hawksbill Turtle. Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are small to medium-sized turtles, but can get as large as 200 lbs (91 kg). Adults live among healthy coral reef communities, feeding primarily on sponges, but they also eat other invertebrates like sea cucumbers, tunicates (sea squirts), crabs, sea stars, and mollusks, as well as some algae.
Six of the seven species of sea turtles that swim the planet’s waters— leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, green, olive ridley, and hawksbill —are found in every ocean except the Arctic and...
Today, there are seven species of sea turtles in existence, and most are listed as at least vulnerable to extinction under the IUCN’s Red List. These ancient reptiles, which have been around since the age of the dinosaurs, may yet disappear if we do not act to conserve them. Are You An Educator?
There are seven species of sea turtle: the green sea turtle, Hawksbill sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle, and flatback sea turtle.
2-6 ft. Habitats. Open water and coasts. © WWF-US / Keith Arnold. Seven different species of sea (or marine) turtles grace our ocean waters, from the shallow seagrass beds of the Indian Ocean, to the colorful reefs of the Coral Triangle and the sandy beaches of the Eastern Pacific.
