Dermochelys coriacea

Leatherback Sea turtle

October 2014

I chose to read about the Leatherback because these sea turtles is the largest of all living turtles and is the fourth-heaviest modern reptile. The article I read was mainly about their ecology and life history. Also I did get some information and the article also described importance to humans. This article talks a lot about their habitat and lifespan. Some things that I did learned from reading the article is, instead of teeth, the leatherback has points on the tomium of its upper lip, with backwards spines in its throat to help it swallow food and to stop its prey escaping once caught. You can find Leatherback in the Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and western Pacific Oceans. You can typically find Leatherbacks in open ocean. Leatherbacks eats almost entirely on jellyfish, Leatherbacks also feed on other soft-bodied organisms, Leatherback turtles help control jellyfish populations. You can't purchase Leatherbacks because they are endangered and they aren't mean't to be kept as a pet. There is a lot of arguments whether keeping Leatherbacks in captivity because it is illegal to and these turtles are protected by the government. These turtles are endangered due to hunting and pollution in the oceans they roam in. The most intresting fact about the Leatherback is they can get up to 7 feet.

 Female Leatherback Laying Eggs

 Female Leatherback Turtle

   Hatching Leatherback