Sea Turtle Species - Save the Turtles

Sea Turtles are ancient creatures. Some scientists say they are over 110 million years old, while others claim their lineage goes back 140 million years. They were here before the dinosaurs roamed the planet; and yet today, all species are on the IUCN (World Conservation Union) Red List meaning they are facing a high risk of global extinction. The United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) also places sea turtles species as endangered. Unfortunately, scientists believe that leatherback sea turtles could be facing extinction in as little as ten years. Save the Turtles, Inc, stands humbled by these gentle creatures and works towards their survival.

Sea Turtles

Are air breathing reptiles, but can spend hours submerged in the ocean.
Return to land in order to lay their eggs.
Return to the same beach where they were born to lay their eggs.
Are found in oceans all over the world, except the Arctic Ocean.
May migrate hundreds or thousands of miles. It is believed that they use the earth’s magnetic forces to navigate throughout the oceans.
Prefer open water, but they are also encountered in coastal waters near reefs and estuaries.
Are sensitive to smells and sound and hear through eardrums below their skin.
Green turtles are unique among sea turtles in that they are herbivorous, feeding primarily on sea grasses and algae.
Most sea turtles are mainly carnivores and feed on jellyfish, tunicates (ascidians, sea squirts), sponges (one of a few animals that eat them), soft corals, crabs, squids and fishes.
Are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Sea Turtles & Taxonomy: the scientific classification system

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia (includes turtles, snakes, lizards, and crocodiles)

Order: Testudines (includes turtles, tortoises and terrapins). See additional notes below that explain the difference between these categories.

Family: Dermochelyidae The Leatherback is the only non-extinct species remaining in this family and is distinguished from all other turtles by the semi-flexible “leathery” skin on its outer shell

Cheloniidae: Most scientists group remaining sea turtle species under the family Cheloniidae. These species have shells covered with hard bony plates or scutes; however, Leatherbacks do not have hard scutes.

How to Distinguish the Seven Different Species

The outer shell or carapace is the primary feature used in the identification of sea turtle species. The number of scutes on the carapace, their shape, coloring and patterning is specific to each species. Another anatomical feature utilized to distinguish between sea turtles are the prefrontal scales located on the turtle’s head.

There are seven living species of sea turtles (the first name listed is based on their physical characteristics and this common name varies in different counties). The name in parenthesis refers to their scientific taxonomy of species and genus:

Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)

The beak-like mouth gives the Hawksbill turtle its name. Unfortunately for the Hawksbill, their shells are so beautiful that this turtle is often hunted for its carapace to make combs, jewelry, sunglasses, etc.

Photo by Caroline Rogers

Hawksbill

Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea)

Leatherbacks are the largest of all sea turtles. They are the only sea turtle with a leathery soft shell, and unfortunately are in danger of extinction. According to NOAA, Leatherbacks are among the most highly migratory animals on earth, traveling as many as 10,000 miles or more each year.

Leatherback hatchlings photo by Jolo Diaz

Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)

Named for their large heads. Known to migrate from Japan to Mexico.

Loggerhead Last updated by Office of Communications on August 20, 2021

Photo in Aruba by David Troeger

Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) are the only species that are herbivorous and love jelly fish, but plastic in the oceans look like jelly fish and sadly, the Green Turtles die from eating plastic. They are also considered the “lawn mowers” because they keep our ocean floor clean. They are the largest of hard-shelled turtles.

Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii)

This species is the smallest of the sea turtles. The name Kemp is used because of the man, Richard M. Kemp, who first described these turtles.

Photo; Network For Good

Kemp Ridley in Mexico; photo by photo by Ivan Cumpiian

Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) are the most abundant sea turtle and derives its name from the olive coloration of its heart-shaped shell.

Hatchling heading to the ocean (looks like one is going the wrong way)

Photo by Oscar Brenes

Only sea turtle that exclusively nests in just one country, Australia. They are so named because of their flat shell.

Flatback turtle wading in water

Vital to the Eco-system

Sea turtles contribute to the delicate balance of ecosystems in our oceans and on the beaches where they nest. Their presence helps replenish both sea and beach nutrients and helps maintain the equilibrium of marine vegetation. For example, without Green turtles to feed on sea grass, the grasses would become overgrown and diseased which would have a negative impact on the many species that rely on this vegetation for sustenance. Sea turtles also play a significant role in balancing the oceans’ food chain. Leatherbacks for instance, consume large quantities of jellyfish, which feed on fish larvae. Some scientists are now looking at the possibility that the severe decline of Leatherback turtles over recent decades may have allowed for a proliferation of jellyfish, thus contributing to the drop in fish populations in the world’s oceans.

Scott Eckert’s (PhD) testimony to the Ocean Commission provides many examples of the interconnectedness of sea turtles and the eco-system:

Eckert also quotes another scientist, Dr. Nat Frazer, who eloquently describes their importance:

“Envision this with me . . . millions of sea turtles pulsing ashore onto the beaches . . . fertilizing the rims of thousands of islands and two continents. And after this wave of nutrients enters the rims, it is pulsed on up and into the interior lands in successive waves of biological transport. Year after year – tons of nutrients and billions of kilojoules of energy in a predictable, regular cycle – for tens of millions of years.

Envision this with me . . . millions of turtles grazing on seagrass beds, stimulating primary productivity at the base of the ocean’s food chain. And this surge of increased productivity works its way up the food chain, nourishing shrimp, mollusks, lobsters, and fish – as well as eventually pulsing onto the shore in the annual ballet of nesting activity.

Envision this with me . . . millions of sea turtles nibbling on sponges – trimming back the invading poriferans that otherwise would overgrow and shut down the coral reef machine. A constant system of checks and balances that also contributes to the gift of energy that sea turtles offer to the land each year in the form of nests and eggs. Year after year, for tens of million of years, the ecosystem engineers, these hawksbill and green and loggerhead and ridley and leatherback turtles, shape and improve and fine-tune the complex and mysterious and marvelous cybernetic machines of the oceans.”

Save the Turtles, Inc. is a non profit, 501 ( c) (3) organization dedicated to sea turtle conservation, and we are proud to be a vital link to the international efforts of protecting marine life.