Size
Adult male and females are equal in size.
Sexual Dimorphism
Adult male and females are equal in size.
- About 3.9-6.2 ft long
- Roughly 441-1,116 lb.
- Characterized by a large, streamlined shell.
- Can be olive-green, yellow, greenish-brown, reddish-brown, or black in color.
- Limbs are flippers adapted for swimming.
- Forelimbs are long and paddle-like.
- Long digits are fused throughout the flipper.
- Only one or two claws are present on each fore flipper.
- A sea turtle cannot retract its head under its shell like land turtle.
- Sea turtles have large upper eyelids that protect their eyes.
- Sea turtles do not have an external ear opening.
- Like other turtles, sea turtles lack teeth. Jaw shape varies among species. Each species has a jaw shape adapted for its diet.
Sea turtles do not have an external ear opening. Researchers have found that
sea turtles respond to low frequency sounds and vibrations.
- Dorsal (top) shell is called the carapace.
- The ventral (bottom) side of the shell is called the plastron. Scutes are firm but flexible, not brittle.
- Scientists can identify sea turtle species by the number and pattern of scutes.
- Thick, oil-suffused skin, an excellent insulator, allowing this species to venture into cold water.
- Carapace is composed largely of cartilage raised into prominent longitudinal ridges. A layer of thousands of small dermal bones lies just below the leathery skin.
Sexual Dimorphism
- Male and females do not differ externally until they approach maturity.
- Adult males have longer, thicker tails than females, because the male reproductive organ is housed in the base of the tail. The tail may even extend beyond the hind flippers.