All About Sea Turtles

Sea turtles —like all turtles and tortoises— are reptiles. Sea turtles have roamed the world’s oceans for around 150 million years.

Adult Olive Ridley Returning to the Bay

Adult Olive Ridley Returning to the Bay

There are seven living species of sea turtles:

  • Flatback Sea Turtle (Natator depressus) — Endangered status unknown
  • Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) — Endangered
  • Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) — Critically Endangered
  • Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) — Critically Endangered
  • Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) — Critically Endangered
  • Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) — Endangered
  • Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) — Vulnerable

 

Olive Ridley Hatchlings Crawling Across the Sand Headed for the Ocean

Olive Ridley Hatchlings Crawling Across the Sand

Sea turtles are found in all warm and temperate waters throughout the world and migrate hundreds of miles between nesting and feeding grounds. Most sea turtles undergo long migrations, some as far as 1400 miles, between their feeding grounds and the beaches where they nest.

 

Within the class Reptilia, sea turtles belong to the order Testudines. The leatherback alone is in the family Dermochelyidae; the other six species are in the family Chelniidae. The flatback sea turtle is endemic to Australia (endemic means it is found only there, nowhere else); the other six species have wide ranges; some span all the oceans of the world. Sea turtles constitute a single evolutionary radiation that became distinct from all other turtles at least 110 million years ago.

(The above information is from several sources, including www.seaturtlestatus.org, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, Wikipedia, and Defenders of Wildlife.

The Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle

Lifecycle of a Sea Turtle

  1. Adult female turtle lays 80-100 eggs on the beach.
  2. She swims away, hopefully to return again next year to lay another clutch of eggs…
  3. Around 45 days later, the baby turtles hatch from their eggs. It takes them 2-3 days to dig up out of the sand; they then make their way to the water, and swim away.
  4. They will live and grow for 7-8 years…
  5. before they reach maturity and are ready to reproduce.
  6. They mate while swimming in the water.
  7. The male swims away…
  8. And the female will make her way back to the beach where she was born, to lay her clutch of eggs.
    And the process repeats itself.

The Sea Turtles of Bahia de Banderas

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
The Leatherback and Olive Ridley sea turtles both used to nest along the beaches of Bahia de Banderas. Alas, the presence of the Leatherback in Bahia de Banderas has been declining since the 1990′s; in 2009, only four Leatherback turtles were seen nesting along these beaches. At this time, therefore, our conservation efforts here at the Campamento Tortuguero are focused on the Olive Ridley.
Read more about the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle.

Read more about the Leatherback Sea Turtle.