Leatherback sea turtle

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Leatherback sea turtle
Temporal range: Holocene 0.012–0 Ma
Female, digging in the sand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Chelonioidea
Family: Dermochelyidae
Subfamily: Dermochelyinae
Genus: Dermochelys
Blainville, 1816[3]
Species:
D. coriacea
Binomial name
Dermochelys coriacea
(Vandelli, 1761)[3]
Synonyms[4]
List of synonyms
  • Testudo coriacea Vandellius, 1761
  • Testudo coriaceous Pennant, 1769 (ex errore)
  • Testudo arcuata Catesby, 1771
  • Testudo lyra Lacépède, 1788
  • Testudo marina Wilhelm, 1794
  • Testudo tuberculata Pennant, 1801
  • Chelone coriacea Brongniart, 1805
  • Chelonia coriacea Oppel, 1811
  • Testudo lutaria Rafinesque, 1814
  • Dermochelys coriacea Blainville, 1816
  • Sphargis mercurialis Merrem, 1820
  • Coriudo coriacea Fleming, 1822
  • Scytina coriacea Wagler, 1828
  • Dermochelis atlantica LeSueur, 1829 (nomen nudum)
  • Sphargis coriacea Gray, 1829
  • Sphargis tuberculata Gravenhorst, 1829
  • Dermatochelys coriacea Wagler, 1830
  • Chelyra coriacca Rafinesque, 1832 (ex errore)
  • Dermatochelys porcata Wagler, 1833
  • Testudo coriacea marina Ranzano, 1834
  • Dermochelys atlantica Duméril & Bibron, 1835
  • Dermatochelys atlantica Fitzinger, 1835
  • Dermochelydis tuberculata Alessandrini, 1838
  • Sphargis coriacea var. schlegelii Garman, 1884
  • Dermatochaelis coriacea Oliveira, 1896
  • Sphargis angusta Philippi, 1899
  • Dermochelys schlegelii Stejneger, 1907
  • Dermatochelys angusta Quijada, 1916
  • Dermochelys coriacea coriacea Gruvel, 1926
  • Dendrochelys (Sphargis) coriacea Pierantoni, 1934
  • Dermochelys coriacea schlegeli Mertens, Müller & Rust, 1934 (ex errore)
  • Chelyra coriacea Bourret, 1941
  • Seytina coriacea Bourret, 1941
  • Sphargis schlegelii Bourret, 1941
  • Dermochelys coriacea schlegelii Carr, 1952
  • Dermochelys coriacea schlegelli Caldwell, 1962 (ex errore)
  • Dermochelys schlegeli Barker, 1964
  • Dermochelys coricea Das, 1985 (ex errore)
Photo of a person's hands holding a small sand-covered grey/green turtle
Baby leatherback turtle at Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex in Boca Raton, Florida

The leatherback sea turtle is the largest of all living sea turtles. It is the fourth largest modern reptile behind three crocodilians.[5][6]

Adults average 1–1.75 metres (3.3–5.7 ft) in shell length, 1.83–2.2 metres (6.0–7.2 ft) in total length and weigh 250 to 700 kilograms (550 to 1,540 lb).[7][8] The largest ever found was over 3 metres (9.8 ft) from head to tail and weighed 916 kilograms (2,019 lb).[9] It was found on a beach on the west coast of Wales.[10]

The eggs and young are often eaten by predators, but the adults can defend themselves aggressively. Only the largest sea predators can tackle a leatherback successfully.[11]

Leatherback turtles are one of the deepest diving marine animals. They have been recorded diving to depths as great as 1,280 metres (4,200 ft).[12]

They are also the fastest-moving reptiles. The 1992 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records lists the leatherback turtle moving at 35.28 kilometres per hour (21.92 mph) in the water.[13][14] Usually, they swim at 0.5–2.8 metres per second (1.1–6.3 mph).[15]

They can live as far north as Alaska and Norway and as far south as the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and the southernmost tip of New Zealand.[7] The leatherback is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and it also goes well into the Arctic Circle.[16]

Very little is known about how long they live. Some reports say "30 years or more",[17] while others say "50 years or more".[18]

References[change | change source]

  1. Wallace, B.P.; Tiwari, M. & Girondot, M. (2013). "Dermochelys coriacea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T6494A43526147. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T6494A43526147.en.
  2. "Species Search".
  3. 3.0 3.1 Rhodin, A. G. J.; van Dijk, P. P.; Inverson, J. B.; Shaffer, H. B. (14 December 2010). Turtles of the world, 2010 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status (PDF). Vol. 5. p. 000.xx. doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v3.2010. ISBN 978-0965354097. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2010. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  4. Uwe, Fritz; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 174–176. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  5. "WWF - Leatherback turtle". Marine Turtles. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 16 February 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  6. "The Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)". turtles.org. 24 January 2004. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Species Fact Sheet: Leatherback Sea Turtle". Caribbean Conservation Corporation & Sea Turtle Survival League. Caribbean Conservation Corporation. 29 December 2005. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  8. Wood, Gerald (1983). The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats. Guinness Superlatives. ISBN 978-0-85112-235-9.
  9. Eckert K.L. and Luginbuhl C. 1988. "Death of a giant". Marine Turtle Newsletter. 43: 2–3.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. Mystery of Wales turtle 'solved', BBC News, 2004, retrieved 19 June 2012
  11. "Sea Turtle". Seaworld. Archived from the original on 2013-05-29. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
  12. Doyle, T.K. et al 2008 (2008). "Leatherback Turtles satellite tagged in European waters". Endangered Species Research. 4: 23–31. doi:10.3354/esr00076.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. Shweky, Rachel (1999). "Speed of a Turtle or Tortoise". The Physics Factbook. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  14. McFarlan, Donald (1991). Guinness Book of Records 1992. New York: Guinness.
  15. Swim speed and movement patterns of gravid leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) at St Croix, US Virgin Islands, Scott A. Eckert, The Journal of Experimental Biology 205, 3689-3697 (2002)
  16. Willgohs J.F. (1957). "Occurrence of the Leathery Turtle in the northern North Sea and off western Norway" (PDF). Nature. 179 (4551): 163–164. Bibcode:1957Natur.179..163W. doi:10.1038/179163a0. S2CID 4166581. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  17. Dermochelys coriacea. "Dermochelys coriacea". Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  18. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. "Leatherback sea turtle". Retrieved 19 June 2012.