Wikipedia: Sea turtle

Sea turtle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sea Turtles

baby Loggerhead sea turtle

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Subclass:	Anapsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Chelonioidea
Family:	Cheloniidae

Genera

See text

Sea turtles are large, ocean-dwelling turtles. There are seven species of sea turtle, and they are all endangered:

Family Cheloniidae

Subfamily Carettinae
- Genus Caretta
  - Caretta caretta (Loggerhead Turtle)
- Genus Lepidochelys
  - Lepidochelys olivacea (Olive Ridley)
  - Lepidochelys kempii (Kemp's Ridley)
Subfamily Cheloniinae
- Genus Chelonia
  - Chelonia mydas (Green Turtle)
- Genus Eretmochelys
  - Eretmochelys imbricata (Hawksbill Turtle)
- Genus Natator
  - Natator depressa (Flat Back turtle) (Previously in Chelonia)
Subfamily Dermochelyidae
- Genus Dermochelys
  - Dermochelys coriacea (Leatherback Turtle)

Every two or three years, female sea turtles return to the land to nest, usually on the same beach from which they hatched. They make from four to seven nests per nesting season. They dig a hole with their hind flippers and lay from 100 to 150 eggs in it (depending on the species) before covering it up and returning to the ocean. Some of the eggs are unfertilised 'dummy eggs' and the rest contain young turtles. When the eggs hatch, these baby turtles dig their way out and seek the ocean. Only a very small proportion of them (at most 1 in 100) will be successful, as many predators are waiting to eat them.

External links

Turtle Trax Dedicated to Hawaiian green turtles
Sea Turtle, Inc. - Kemp's ridley nesting protection, Padre Island National Seashore
sea turtle images
ITIS Taxonomy Taxonomic Serial No.: 173828