Sea turtles are wonderful creatures among the animal kingdom. Also known as marine turtles this species has been living before the age of dinosaurs. Currently, there are seven types of species of sea turtles that exist and they are green sea turtle, kemp’s ridley sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, flatback sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle.
Among them loggerhead, hawksbill, green sea, kemp’s ridley, leatherback, olive ridley lives in the US waters. They are listed as endangered or threatened by the Endangered Species Act. Flatback sea turtles are mainly found in Australian water, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
How Much Does A Sea Turtle Weigh?
A sea turtle weighs can be between 89 pounds to 2000 pounds or 40.37 kg to 907.19 kg. The heaviest sea turtles weigh can weigh of a smart car.
How Much Does A Baby Sea Turtle Weigh?
No exact information was found about baby sea turtle weight. Usually sea turtles do not guard their nests and the baby sea turtles are on their own. It takes two months to hatch. Tiny hatchlings can weigh one-half pound and 2 to 3 inches or 5 to 8 cm long.
How Much Does A Green Sea Turtle Weigh?
Green sea turtles are heavy and look beautiful and have limbs called as flippers that look like a live paddle. Flippers help them quickly move through the water. They have the largest hard shell and their head is small in size.
Mainly found in warm, tropical oceans. They can reach 3 to 4 feet in length. On average a green sea turtle can weigh between 300 to 350 pounds or 136 to 159 kg. A green sea turtle reaches sexual maturity in 20 to 30 years.
How Much Does A baby Green Sea Turtle Weigh?
A baby green sea turtle can weigh less than 1 ounce and 5 to 10 cm in length. They feature black on the top and white on the bottom side.
How Much Does A Leatherback Sea Turtle Weigh?
A leatherback sea turtle can weigh 660 pounds to 1100 pounds or 300 kg to 500 kg. And they can be 4 feet to 6 feet or 130 cm to 183 cm long. The largest leatherback sea turtle was found in 2019 pounds or 916 kg and 10 feet or 305 cm long.
How Big Do Sea Turtles Get?
It depends on different species. The smallest among all sea turtles are the olive and kemp’s ridley sea turtles. They grow only about 70 cm or over 2 feet in shell length. They can weigh up to 100 pounds or 45 kg. On the other side, Leatherbacks are the largest sea turtles. They can be 4 to 6 feet long.
Weights And Length Of Other Different Types Of Sea Turtles
-Kemp’s Ridley: weigh around 25 to 54 kg for nesting female and 55.6 to 66.0 cm in length.
-Olive Ridley: Can weigh an average of 35.7 kg for nesting females and 52.5 to 80 cm in length.
-Hawksbill: Nesting females of this type can weigh between 27.2 to 86.2 kg or 53.3 to 95.6 cm in length based on the carapace.
-Flatbacks: Nesting females can weigh on average 67.4 kg and in length 87.5 to 96.5 cm.
-Loggerheads: They measure between 65 to 115 cm based on the curved carapace and weigh between 40 to 180 kg.
Can Sea Turtles Breathe Underwater?
Normally when sea turtles are active they swim to the ocean surface to breathe in every few minutes. But when they sleep or rest they can hold their breath underwater for several hours. They can remain underwater for at least 4 to 7 hours without coming to the sea surface for breathing.
Can You Drown A Sea Turtle?
Yes, you can easily drown sea turtles as they have lungs like other reptiles.
What Do Sea Turtles Eat?
Depending on their species sea turtles eat jellyfish, seagrasses, sponges, sea squirts, squid, shrimp, crabs, cuttlefish, algae and sea cucumbers.
What Is A Green Sea Turtles Favorite Food?
Green sea turtles are vegetarian. They prefer seagrasses, algae, seaweeds as adults. And baby green sea turtles like to eat jellyfish, snails, shrimp and crabs.
Do Turtles Have Teeth?
It is believed that prehistoric turtles have had teeth. But turtles you see today do not have teeth. They use their sharp beaks to eat. Strong jaw muscles help them to crush the shells of their prey like crabs, sea urchins etc. On the other hand baby turtles have egg-tooth or caruncle which is actually not a tooth.
How Long Do Sea Turtles Live?
A sea turtle can live for a long period of time. They have an almost similar lifespan to humans. Some of them can live for 50 years or more. Also according to Carol Haley, assistant curator of fishes at Tennessee aquarium some sea turtles can live 100 years or even 150 years.
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How Old Is The Oldest Sea Turtle?
New research published exposed that Desmatochelys padillai is the oldest sea turtle in the world over 120 million years old with a length of nearly 6.5 feet or 2 m.
Where Do Sea Turtles Live?
Sea turtles live all around the world. They can be found from the cold water of California to the warm beaches of the Coral Triangle. Male sea turtles never live in the ocean and females come to ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches during nesting season.
Why Are Sea Turtles Endangered?
Sea turtles are slaughtered for their eggs, meat, skin, etc. This is the main reason they are endangered. Also, they face poaching and over-exploitation, habitat destruction, and accidental capture in fishing gear. The WWF is trying to stop the decline of sea turtles and working hard to recover the species.
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Fun Facts About Sea Turtles:
>>Leatherbacks and Hawkbill sea turtles eat jellyfish too much and they think it is delicious.
>>Sea turtles are known as oceans lawnmowers as they eat seagrass and keep it short from getting tall.
>>Sea turtles can not retract their flippers and head into their shells because their anatomy makes them agile.
>>Dogs are not sea turtle’s best friends as dogs dig up their eggs buried in the sand.
>>Sea turtles do cry which helps them to empty excess of salt from their eyes.
>>Leatherbacks and Loggerheads sea turtles can travel 1000 miles each year.
>>If weather is hot more female sea turtles are born and if weather is cold then more males female turtles are born.
>>Sea turtles absorb all types of human-sourced chemicals from the sea.
>>Sea turtles can see color and they have a great memory.
