Research on them and post your comments below.
- Where do they live in the oceans?
- How long can they live?
- What are their predators?
- How do they communicate?
- How old is the oldest leatherback turtle?
- How many are left?
- How far can they swim?
- When are the hatchlings big enough to find their own food?
Also, check this video about the hatchlings.
First, here is a theory on leatherback turtles:
ReplyDeleteLeatherback Turtle
The largest of all sea turtles, and one of the largest reptiles on earth, the leatherback turtle ranges in size from 4-8 feet in length (1.2 - 2.4 meters) and weighs between 500-2,000 pounds (225 - 900 kg). The average adult measures in between 5-6 feet (1.5 - 1.8 m) and weighs 600-800 pounds (270 - 360 kg).
The oldest of all sea turtle species, it has been around for more than 150 million years! They survived the extinction of the dinosaurs and thrived until the last several decades when human interactions have taken a major toll.
Facts & Tidbits
•Leatherbacks can consume twice their own body weight in prey per day, feeding exclusively on soft-bodied invertebrates like jellyfish and tunicates. Learn more about their diet.
•They have downward curving spines (also known as papillae) in their mouth and throat which help them to capture and swallow their prey.
•Unlike all other sea turtles, these giants do not possess a carapace (shell) covered with hard scales, also known as scutes. Their smooth, leathery skin covers a flexible matrix of bone. This specialized, flexible carapace allows them to dive to great depths unlike other species.
•Their widespread distribution and ability to tolerate cold water are due to thermoregulatory adaptations (called gigantothermy) which allow them to maintain their core body temperature.
•They are considered Critically Endangered around the world by the IUCN Red List and listed as Endangered in the US.
•Their scientific name is Dermochelys coriacea.
Distribution
Leatherbacks have the widest distribution of all sea turtle species. They are found throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. In the Pacific, their range extends as far north as Alaska and south beyond the southernmost tip of New Zealand.
In the Atlantic, they can be found as far north as Norway and the Arctic Circle and south to the tip of Africa. They are mainly pelagic (open ocean) wanderers but migrate to tropical and subtropical coastal regions to mate and nest.
Major Threats
The Pacific population has declined by over 90% in the last two decades due primarily to incidental capture in commercial fishing gear, particularly longlines and gillnets. They are also vulnerable to harvest of eggs and meat for human consumption in many parts of the world.
These ancient creatures are also vulnerable to ingestion of floating marine debris like discarded plastics. Plastic bags and balloons resemble their favorite prey, jellyfish and when ingested may block their digestive tract, preventing them from eating.
Did You Know?
•The largest one on record washed up dead on the coast of Wales (UK) in 1988. It weighed over 2000 lbs and measured 9 feet in length! It was estimated to be approximately 100 years old. The turtle had been drowned from entanglement in fishing gear.
•They can dive deeper than 4000 ft (roughly 1,200 m)! Sperm Whales, Beaked Whales, and Elephant seals are the only other known animals that dive deeper.
•Researchers recently tracked an adult female more than 12,000 miles (19,000 kilometers) using satellite telemetry, from Indonesia to Oregon, one of the longest recorded migrations of any vertebrate animal. Read an article about this incredible journey.
Okeydokey, let's answer some questions.
ReplyDelete1.Where do they live in the oceans? Answer: Almost any ocean, but they nest in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean or Pacific Ocean.
2.How long can they live? Answer: 30 to 100 years. However, this is not accurate as no one knows the actual lifespan of a leatherback turtle.
3.What are their predators? Answer: Crocodiles and humans who are that cruel to eat leatherback turtles.
4.How do they communicate? Answer: Scientists believe leatherback turtles communicate by making sounds. With these sounds, they are able to find each other. They also bite each other and make bobbing head movements when trying to mate.
5.How old is the oldest leatherback turtle? Answer: Around a 100+ years.
6.How many are left? Answer: No one knows. However, there are not many.
7.How far can they swim? Answer: 100-300miles. The furthest ever recorded was 12,774 miles in 647 days!
8.When are the hatchlings big enough to find their own food? Answer: When they are born, they have to find their own food.
Exley answered all the questions and didn't give us a chance...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure if I would research about leatherback turtles my answer would be the same.
Brandon
Check this out.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXy1uGA6U84
For me, I would be posting the videos instead then.
ReplyDeleteThe mouth on this one is about the size of a 5 gallon bucket except lined with a shark edge.
Leatherback turtles attacking video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=armYanU3wFc
Leatherback turtles documentary from Stanford University
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxvyWwDiFWQ
Leatherback turtle documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aCA99bBtcI
Leatherback turtles laying millions of eggs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8tTak7foqU
For me, I would be posting the videos instead then.
ReplyDeleteThe mouth on this one is about the size of a 5 gallon bucket except lined with a shark edge.
Leatherback turtles attacking video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=armYanU3wFc
Leatherback turtles documentary from Stanford University
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxvyWwDiFWQ
Leatherback turtle documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aCA99bBtcI
Leatherback turtles laying millions of eggs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8tTak7foqU
1. The leatherback is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and its range extends well into the Arctic Circle.
ReplyDelete2.30 to 100 years. This questions' answer is yet to be discovered, though.
3.Eggs may be predated by a variety of animals like shorebirds and mongooses, genets, coyotes, dogs, coatis, raccoons, monitor lizards, ghost crabs ranging from little plovers to large gulls. Once in the sea, young leatherbacks still face predation through sharks, requiem, cephalopods and various large fish. Many sharks like the Tiger shark have been known to eat leatherbacks. Also, the Orca includes leatherbacks in their diets.
4. Turtles are mostly solitary creatures, so not much is known about how they communicate with each other. They do seem to use some type of communication when it is time to mate. Some species will travel together to nesting grounds to mate. Some turtles will use a variety of methods to try and attract a mate, including head bobbing, biting the female's legs, or use different leg movements while facing the female.
5. No one knows, but it is estimated to be a 100+ years.
6. No one knows, but they are under the "critically endangered" area.
7.They can swim for thousands of miles.
8.When they are born, they naturally have to find their own food.
Freesia
Oh sorry, 3.'s 'ghost crabs ranging from little plovers to large gulls'. should be ''ghost crabs and shorebirds ranging from little plovers to large gulls'.
ReplyDeleteFreesia
leatherbacks are the largest turtles on Earth, growing up to seven feet (two meters) long and exceeding 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms). These reptilian relics are the only remaining representatives of a family of turtles that traces its evolutionary roots back more than 100 million years. Once prevalent in every ocean except the Arctic and Antarctic, the leatherback population is rapidly declining in many parts of the world.
ReplyDeleteWhile all other sea turtles have hard, bony shells, the inky-blue carapace of the leatherback is somewhat flexible and almost rubbery to the touch. Ridges along the carapace help give it a more hydrodynamic structure. Leatherbacks can dive to depths of 4,200 feet (1,280 meters)—deeper than any other turtle—and can stay down for up to 85 minutes.
Leatherbacks have the widest global distribution of all reptile species, and possibly of any vertebrate. They can be found in the tropic and temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. Adult leatherbacks also traverse as far north as Canada and Norway and as far south as New Zealand and South America. Unlike their reptilian relatives, leatherbacks are able to maintain warm body temperatures in cold water by using a unique set of adaptations that allows them to both generate and retain body heat. These adaptations include large body size, changes in swimming activity and blood flow, and a thick layer of fat.
Leatherbacks undertake the longest migrations between breeding and feeding areas of any sea turtle, averaging 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) each way. After mating at sea, females come ashore during the breeding season to nest. The nighttime ritual involves excavating a hole in the sand, depositing around 80 eggs, filling the nest, leaving a large, disturbed area of sand that makes detection by predators difficult, and finally returning to the sea.
The temperature inside the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings. A mix of male and female hatchlings occurs when the nest temperature is approximately 85.1 degrees Fahrenheit (29.5 degrees Celsius), while higher temperatures produce females and cooler temperatures produce males. Female hatchlings that make it to sea will roam the oceans until they reach sexual maturity, when they return to the same nesting areas to produce their own offspring. Males spend the rest of their lives at sea.
Their lifespan is unknown but many leatherbacks meet an early end due to human activity. It is estimated that only about one in a thousand leatherback hatchlings survive to adulthood. Eggs are often taken by humans from nests to be consumed for subsistence or as aphrodisiacs. Many leatherbacks fall victim to fishing lines and nets, or are struck by boats. Leatherbacks also can die if they ingest floating plastic debris mistaken for their favorite food: jellyfish. Some individuals have been found to have almost 11 pounds (5 kilograms) of plastic in their stomachs.
Leatherbacks are currently designated as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The number of leatherbacks in the Atlantic appears to be stable or increasing, but the Pacific population is declining at an alarming rate due to egg harvest, fishery bycatch, coastal development, and highly variable food availability. Some Pacific populations have disappeared entirely from certain areas, such as Malaysia.
Scientists around the world are tracking and studying leatherbacks to learn more about these reptilian giants and how they can be saved.
Their predators are ghosts crab, monitor lizards, racoons, coatis, dogs and more animals.
ReplyDeleteBy: Haidah Fikriyah(4A)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen the hatchlings are born, they know how to find their own food.
ReplyDelete