Plus some extra turtle fun facts
QUESTION 1 How many species of marine turtle are there?
There are 7 species of marine turtle, all of which are tagged as vulnerable to critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (except for Flatbacks who are listed as "data deficient").
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle (lepidochelys kempii)
Loggerhead Sea Turtle (caretta caretta)
QUESTION 2 What predators do turtles have?
Hatchlings and young juvenile sea turtles have many natural threats, both on land and at sea. These include fire ants, crabs, lizards, birds, dogs, raccoons, wild pigs, coyotes, dolphins, and many species of carnivorous fish such as snapper, grouper, and barracuda.
For the few who make it to adulthood, adult sea turtles do not have many natural predators. However, large sharks such as the Tiger Shark can sometimes snap at turtles, although they often only take a bite from a flipper or part of the shell. Killer Whales are also known to sometimes prey on Leatherback Sea Turtles. On land, adult female turtles that nest in the Caribbean and Central America may be attacked by a jaguar or wild boar, but this is rare.
QUESTION 3 How long can marine turtles stay underwater?
Sea turtles can hold their breath for several hours, depending on their level of activity.
Turtles can hold their breath for 45 minutes to one hour during routine activity, but they normally dive for 4-5 minutes and surface to breathe for a few seconds in between dives.
As sleeping requires very little activity or movement, they can hold their breath for 5-10 hours depending on the species.
QUESTION 4 Where do turtles typically sleep?
If sea turtles stay too long underwater they can drown, but this would only happen if they were to get caught by a net or something similar.
Most aquatic turtles sleep underwater, but all try to stay as close to the surface as possible, in case they want to get some oxygen.
Turtles rarely sleep above water, but when they do, they may wedge themselves into tight crevices in rock piles or submerged tree stumps for the night. Rock pilings, dams, and other man-made structures could also be a cozy sleeping spot for them.
QUESTION 5 Which turtle gets its name because of its unusually large head?
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is named after its exceptionally large head.
The Hawksbill Sea Turtle was given its name because of its narrow head and hawk-like beak.
The Leatherback Sea Turtle has a unique leathery-looking shell it is named after.
The Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle received its name from Richard Kemp who helped to discover and study the species.
The Green Sea Turtle is given its name because of the green color of fat underneath its shell.
The Olive Ridley Sea Turtle has a distinctly olive green-colored shell.
The Flatback Sea Turtle's shell is incredibly flat, hence the name.
QUESTION 6 What do you call the lower part (or underside) of a turtle?
A turtle's body is made up of two parts; the carapace (upper shell part) and the plastron (underside of a turtle).
Turtle shells are made of over 50 bones fused together - so they're literally wearing their bones on the outside. Within, they have light spongy bones that help them float. Since they have no teeth, they use their beak-like mouth to grasp their food. This beak is made of keratin (the same stuff fingernails are made of).
QUESTION 7 All sea turtles nest in which regions of the world?
Sea turtles migrate long distances to feed, often crossing entire oceans. As such, they live in almost every ocean basin throughout the world, but sea turtles only nest on tropical and subtropical beaches.
In fact, female turtles always return to the same beach they hatched on, to lay their own eggs and bury them in sand ‘nests’. Their amazing ability to navigate comes from their sensitivity to the Earth's magnetic fields.
QUESTION 8 Which of the following is not a threat to turtles?
"Content chaos" isn't a threat to turtles (or Turtls). Expert members of the IUCN-SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group have identified five major threats to sea turtles worldwide: