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Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Caretta caretta
-30.2452, 30.8274
Field Notes
Description:
Loggerhead - named for its exceptionally large head.
Head is very large with heavy strong jaws. Carapace is bony without ridges and has large, non-overlapping, rough scutes (scales) present with 5 lateral scute. Carapace is heart shaped. Front flippers are short and thick with 2 claws, while the rear flippers can have 2 or 3 claws. Carapace is a reddish-brown with a yellowish-brown plastron. Hatchlings have a dark-brown carapace with flippers pale brown on margins.
Size: Typically 2.5 to 3.5 feet in carapace length (80-110 cm).
Weight: Adult weigh between 155 and 375 pounds (70 -0 170 kg).
Diet: Primarily carnivorous and feed mostly on shellfish that live on the bottom of the ocean. They eat horseshoe crabs, clams, mussels, and other invertebrates. Their powerful jaw muscles help them to easily crush the shellfish.
Habitat:
Prefer to feed in coastal bays and estuaries, as well as in the shallow water along the continental shelves of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
International - Listed as Endangered (facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
Notes:
Taken on a Scuba Dive at Aliwal Shoal MPA , South Africa. The biggest one i have ever seen , easily 2m .
It was happily eating two Huge Titan Conch shells , and was not in the least bit interested in us.
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