10 COOL THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SEA TURTLES!!!!
- There are 7 species of sea turtles, and each has special characteristics adapted for its own niche in the oceans.
- Sea turtles are one of the oldest living reptiles (over 100 million years).
- They can live as long as 50 years.
- They have a shell that protects most of their body, but unlike tortoises they are unable to retract their limbs inside it.
- Sea Turtles undergo one of the longest migrations of the natural world.
- Sea turtles always return to the same beach where they were born to nest – after more than 20 years away.
- Turtles mate in the sea but lay their eggs on land.
- The sex of hatchlings is determined by the temperature - higher temperatures for females and cooler temperatures for males.
- Turtles can rest or sleep underwater for several hours at a time.
- Turtles are mini islands – they carry all sorts of creatures on their shells across the world.
Information on this website was sourced from the following:
Sea Turtles, A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behaviour, and Conservation
By James R. Spotila. The John Hopkins University Press. 2004. PP. 227
The Biology of Sea Turtles
Edited by Peter Lutz and John Musick. CRC Press. 1997. PP.432