Leatherback sea turtle facts

leatherback sea turtle is a type of sea turtle and is the largest turtle in the world. Its scientific name is Dermochelys coriacea.

Unlike most turtles that have a hard, bony shell, the leatherback has a soft, leathery shell covered with tough, rubbery skin — that’s where it gets the name “leatherback.”

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest turtle in the world and one of the most remarkable marine creatures on Earth. Unlike other sea turtles, it doesn’t have a hard, bony shell; instead, its back is covered by a tough, rubbery, leather-like skin, which is how it got its name. These turtles can grow up to 2 meters (over 6 feet) longand weigh as much as 900 kilograms (about 2,000 pounds)!

Leatherbacks are highly migratory animals. They are known to travel incredibly long distances — sometimes more than 10,000 miles (16,000 km) every year — across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They migrate between their feeding grounds in cold, nutrient-rich waters and their nesting beaches in the tropics and subtropics.

They spend most of their lives in the open ocean, diving deep (sometimes over 1,200 meters/4,000 feet) to search for food. They are excellent swimmers and can tolerate cold waters better than any other sea turtle because of their unique body structure and a layer of fat that acts like insulation.

When it comes time to nest, females return to sandy beaches (often the same beaches where they were born) to lay their eggs. They usually come ashore at night, dig a nest with their back flippers, lay around 80 eggs, cover them with sand, and return to the sea. They do this several times in a nesting season.

Leatherback sea turtles have a very specialized diet. They eat almost exclusively jellyfish and other soft-bodied creatures such as salps and tunicates. Because jellyfish are about 95% water and low in calories, leatherbacks need to eat a lot — they may consume hundreds of jellyfish each day.

Their sharp, pointed "cusps" in their jaws and their backward-pointing spines inside their throats help them catch and swallow these slippery animals without getting stung.

Leatherback sea turtles do not drink seawater directly like we might imagine. Instead, they get most of their water from the food they eat, which contains a lot of moisture (since jellyfish are mostly water).

Because they swallow a lot of saltwater while feeding, they have special salt glands near their eyes (called lacrimal glands). These glands remove excess salt from their bodies and excrete it in very salty tears. This is why you might see sea turtles "crying" when they come ashore — they are actually getting rid of extra salt!

Unfortunately, leatherbacks are considered vulnerable or even critically endangered in some regions. Their numbers have declined because of threats such as:

• Entanglement in fishing nets
• Plastic pollution (they often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish)
• Climate change affecting their nesting beaches and food supply
• Egg harvesting by humans
• Boat strikes

Many conservation efforts are underway to protect their nesting sites, reduce plastic waste, and make fishing practices safer for them.

Leatherbacks play an important role in ocean ecosystems. By eating jellyfish, they help keep jellyfish populations in check, which maintains the balance of marine food webs.

They are also ancient creatures — they’ve existed in some form for over 100 million years, even surviving the age of dinosaurs. Protecting them helps preserve a living piece of natural history.

The leatherback sea turtle is an incredible ocean traveler and a gentle giant that eats jellyfish and keeps our seas healthy. It doesn’t drink seawater directly but gets water from its food and expels extra salt through special glands. They spend most of their lives in the open ocean, coming ashore only to nest. Though they face many threats, they are a symbol of the wild, mysterious life in the deep sea, and efforts continue worldwide to save them.