Leatherback Sea Turtle

The Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the biggest of all turtles alive, reaching a length of 2 metres (6.5 ft) and a weight of up to 600 kg (1,500 lb). The world's biggest recorded Leatherback Sea Turtle was washed ashore on Harlech beach, Gwynedd, in September 1988. It had drowned in fishing nets. At 100 years old, it was the oldest recorded turtle, measuring almost nine feet (2.74 metres) in length and weighing 914 kg (2015lb). The Leatherback Sea Turtle is found in all tropic and subtropic oceans. It is the only species in the family Dermochelyidae.

Related Topics:
Turtle - Harlech - Gwynedd - September - 1988

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This species has many unique features that distinguish it greatly from other sea turtles. Its metabolic rate is approximately 3 times higher than one would expect for a reptile of its size, which, coupled with counter-current heat exchangers and large size, allow it to maintain a body temperature as much as 18°C above that of the surrounding water. Some scientists even hypothesize that the leatherback might have some capacity to generate its own body heat, like a mammal, even though reptiles are ectotherms - or "cold-blooded" - which means that their body temperature depends upon the temperature of the environment in which they find themselves. It also has a shell that lacks the bony scutes of other turtles, being comprised mainly of connective tissue.

Related Topics:
Metabolic - Reptile - Counter-current heat exchangers - Shell - Scutes

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