Sea turtles are one of the Earth's most ancient creatures. The seven species that can be found today have been around for 110 million years, since the time of the dinosaurs. The sea turtle's shell, or "carapace" is streamlined for swimming through the water. Unlike other turtles, sea turtles cannot retract their legs and head into their shells. Their color varies between yellow, greenish and black depending on the species.
Sea turtles are known to be distributed in many places around the world, except the polar regions. They prefer the tropic and sub tropics temperatures. They are found along the coastal regions of sandy beaches. This includes areas of North America, South America, Central America, India, South Africa, and Australia. They have also been spotted in the Atlantic Ocean by Canada and even in areas around Europe.
Occasionally, sea turtles will be found in strange locations. Researchers wonder if they got confused during migration. Perhaps they were in a fishing net and turned loose far from their natural habitat. Others believe it has to do with global warming and the search for food. Since sea turtles are loners these are often isolated incidents were one or two sea turtles are identified.
Some sea turtles are known to live in the colder waters, but it is often due to necessity. For example when they can’t find enough food to survive on in their natural habitat they may venture further than they did in the past to locate it. You will also find that sea turtles travel through the colder waters when they migrate.
The migration process for sea turtles is very fascinating. They can travel several miles for mating. They will return to the sandy beach where they were hatched to deposit their own eggs. It doesn’t matter how long that journey is from their current location. The problem though is that if they return to that habitat to lay their eggs and it has been destroyed by humans, they simply won’t be laying any eggs. That means the population of sea turtles is going to be adversely affected. Not all sea turtles migrate though as their location to deposit eggs may be very close to where they permanently reside. There is plenty of variation out there among sea turtles when it comes to migration. You may assume that such differences are due to various species. However, even the same species of sea turtles are known to behave differently in this regard.
When they aren’t migrating, sea turtles are content to live in a given location. They will travel around a certain area looking for food. The home area of a sea turtle will commonly overlap with that of many others. While they are loners so they don’t group together, they don’t seem to mind sharing the territory with other sea turtles.
Where you will find the sea turtles in the water really depends on their age. For example the adult sea turtles are commonly found in shallow waters including bays and lagoons. They can also be found in the open sea as many of the species can dive deep down into the water to find food.
It is believed that the younglings are to stay in areas of the coral reef for a at least the first year of life. Very little is known about them during this period of time and researchers still aren’t 100% positive that is where they reside. It is like these newly hatched sea turtles simply disappear without a trace for at least a year and then they move closer to the shoreline.
With the sea turtles being so distributed it is difficult to really know just how many of them are really out there. This makes it very hard to get additional conservation efforts in place at a government level in various countries. The fact that the natural habitats of the sea turtles continue to be destroyed though is a serious problem to be aware of. The number of them is dropping and if such trends continue they will be extinct in about 50 years according to the predictions of experts.
When you take a look at a species of sea turtle, you will see some things that may not fit right in your mind. However, it is important to understand that the anatomy of sea turtle is fitting for their life in the water. They are clumsy and slow on land, but they spend most of their life in the water. Their anatomy allows them to be able to swim long distances without burning up very much energy. As you learn more about the anatomy of a sea turtle you will agree that there is more to them than meets the eye.
What you also may not realize is that the sea turtle features both an internal and external skeleton. There are very few creatures on this Earth that have both of them in place. The external skeleton is what offers them protection. If you look closely at it you will notice that it is made up of two symmetrical halves. It is also made from bone. The scientific name for a sea turtles shell is plastron. Underneath the shell on the stomach is a layer of fat. This is called the caliper.
The internal skeleton helps the sea turtle to maintain its overall shape. It is a way for the muscles of the internal skeleton to fuse to the external skeleton. All sea turtles have flippers that are very large in size. They use the front ones to gracefully move around in the water. They also use them to move around on land, especially the females as they must go to the beach to successfully lay their eggs. It is believed that these flippers are very sensitive to touch.
There are back flippers as well and they help a sea turtle to stay balanced. They also help them to be able to navigate in different directions both on land and in the water. Turtles have very unique eyes as they feature eyelids. The eyes are also where the saltwater they take in during eating is excreted which is why some will argue that sea turtles cry.
Sea turtles have a bone in the middle ear that will send vibrations to their inner ear. They are able to hear very small vibrations in the water. It is believed this part of their body is developed to protect them from prey and to help them locate their own sources of food. Most people assume that sea turtles don’t have ears and that is because they are internal rather than external.
You will notice that different species of sea turtles have different shapes of mouths. None of the sea turtles have teeth. However, many of them have very powerful jaws and pointed beaks. This allows them to easily crush their food so that it doesn’t get away from them. They have a very good sense of smell and use it to find prey. It is believed that the young also use it to find their way to the water for the first time. You will have a hard time identifying the males and the females from each other. This is because their anatomy is very similar even in size.
One way to tell them apart though is to look at the tails of sea turtles. Females have a very short tail and it won’t be any longer than their back flippers. Males have a much longer tail that will extend past their back legs. Females have a sex organ called the ovipositor where they will develop their eggs. Males contain their sex organs inside of their tails. It isn’t quite known how reproduction takes place for them due to it being in the water, but their anatomy for reproduction is very different from other animals.
REF: http://www.igfa.org
REF: http://www.flmnh.com