Loggerhead Sea Turtle BY: Gabe Henneberger

Taxonomy Class: Reptilia Family: Cheloniidae Genus: Caretta Species Name: Caretta Caretta

Habitat The sea turtles are normally in the ocean vastness or along shallow coastal waters. They don’t normally go ashore unless they are female, for they then have to make nests and lay eggs. New born Loggerheads live along floating algae. While the adult turtles live along the continental shelf and also in shallow coastal estuaries.

Food The sea turtles are omnivorous and mainly feed off of bottom dwelling invertebrates. Its large powerful jaws are good for dismantling its prey. It also has they greatest amount of prey out of all the turtles. Including gastropods, bivalves, and decapods.

Body The adult turtles weighs about 300 pounds. Its skin ranges from yellow to brown in color, and the shell is typically reddish-brown.

Hatchlings Young loggerheads are hunted by numerous predators. The eggs are especially vulnerable to enemy sea creatures. Once the turtles reach adulthood, their larger size decreases the number of predators like sharks.

Location The Loggerhead sea turtle can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Oceans. Also the Mediterranean Sea.

History Modern sea turtles likely descended from a single common ancestor during the Cretaceous period. Like all other sea turtles except the leatherback, loggerheads are members of the old family Cheloniidae, and appeared about 40 million years ago.

Diseases Dangerous bacteria such as Pseudomonas and Salmonella attack loggerhead hatchlings and eggs. Fibropapillamatosis disease caused by a form of the herpes type virus threatens loggerheads with internal and external tumors. These tumors disrupt essential behaviors.

Male body to Female There is no external differences in gender are seen until the turtle becomes an adult, except adult males have thicker tails and shorter plastrons than the females.

Endangered Loggerheads are considered an endangered species. But they are protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Untended fishing gear is responsible for many loggerhead deaths, they have suffocated from the gear.

The End