1. Marine Reptiles
Class Reptilia

2. Characteristics of Reptiles
Appeared more than 300 million years ago
Evolved to be suited for life on land
Lungs
Leathery egg shell to prevent drying out
Ectothermic: “cold blooded”
Most have 3 chambered heart
Skin is covered with scales: to prevent drying out

3. Sea Snakes Family Hydrophiidae
Found in Indian and Pacific Oceans
Only 55 living species
Laterally flattened bodies
Flattened tail-like paddle
Ability to close nostrils
Most are 3 to 4 feet long (1-1.3 m)

4. Sea Snakes cont.
Most are ovoviviparous: eggs are retained in the mother and give birth to live young. (A few still lay eggs on land.)
Carnivores
Highly poisonous; venom can kill humans (related to cobra)
Small mouth and are not aggressive

6.
Belcher Sea Snake or Faint-Banded Sea Snake
Hydrophis Belcheri
Most poisonous of all snakes

7. Yellow-bellied Sea Snake - Pelamis platurus

9. Marine Iguana Only living marine lizard Found in the Galapagos Islands
Basks on lava rocks to stay warm
Feed on submerged algae
Osmoregulation: excrete salt from a gland in the nose

12. Order Crocodilia American Alligators are found in freshwater.
Avg 800 lbs and 13 feet
Found from Eastern TX to Florida
Crocodiles are found in freshwater and saltwater
Avg 2,000 lbs and 16 feet
Found Indian Ocean, Australia and W Pacific Islands
Can be found in open oceans

13. Crocodile vs Alligator

17. Sea Turtles Characteristics:
Carapace: armor-like shell that is fused to their backbone (cannot retract head into shell)
paddle-like flippers
fatty deposits and light spongy bones increase buoyancy
Males almost never go ashore

18. Nutrition Most found in shallow coastal waters where food is abundant
Herbivore: Green Sea Turtle- eat turtle grass
Carnivores: loggerheads- crabs, shellfish, sponges, fish, horseshoe crabs; hawksbill-mussels, clams, jellyfish; Kemp’s Ridley- sea urchins and other inverts; leatherbacks- jellyfish in open ocean (pharynx has sharp spines to hold slippery prey.

19. Migration
Travel hundreds of miles away from feeding ground to its nesting beach where they were born every 2-4 years.

20. Reproduction
Mating takes place in the ocean, males do not venture onto the shore only females.
eggs are buried in the sand because
a. porous and can dry out
b. protects the eggs from predators
c. keeps the eggs at the right temperature
eggs hatch after 60 days. Sex depend on temperature incubation (warmer female, cooler male) and hatchlings scurry to ocean and follow currents and float among Sargassum (sea weed) only about 10% survive
Depending on the species; some sexually mature around age 4 others around age 15

21. Threats
Man! (boats, chemical, physical, light pollution, poaching, bycatch…..)
TEDs
Turtle Exclusion Devices
a solution to reducing bycatch

22. Kemp’s Ridley

23. Olive Ridley

24. Green Sea Turtle

25. Loggerhead

26. Leatherback

27. Hawksbill

28. Flat Back Turtle

29. Nesting and Predators What is an arribada? Nesting behaviors?
What species use arribada?
What are advantages of this behavior?
What are disadvantages of this behavior?