Loggerhead SEA TURTLE
Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testidunes
Family: Cheloniidae
Genus: Caretta
Species: caretta
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testidunes
Family: Cheloniidae
Genus: Caretta
Species: caretta
morphology
The Loggerhead's shell is the most noticiable feature of all the turtles. The shell is made up of many bones. The hard shell protects it's soft organs underneath the shell. The shell consist of two parts the carapace and the plastron… The turtles front flippers are used for propulsion while the rear flippers act as rudders.
where are loggerheads found?
Loggerhead sea turtles are found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters often extending to temperate waters in search of food. Found in the Atlantic Ocean from Argentina to Nova Scotia. The highest populations in North America are found on barrier islands from North Carolina to the Florida Keys. These Florida loggerheads migrate to the Bahamas in the winter. Small populations of the Atlantic loggerhead are also found on barrier islands off of the Texas coast. Primary habitat is in southeastern United States ranging southward to South America and extending eastward to Africa and the Mediterranean as well as areas of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans.
http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=163
http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=163
why are loggerhead sea-turtles important?
Loggerheads have powerful jaws to feed on hard-shelled prey. The jaws allow them to take the shells of their prey into pieces that are discarded. By breaking up the shells loggerheads increase the rate of nutrient recycling in ocean bottom ecosystems.
biology
The loggerhead sea turtle was described by Linnaeus in 1758 and got the name Testudo caretta. Over centuries this turtle was named at least 35 different times, but now caretta caretta is the valid name for this species.
DISTRIBUTION MAP
The yellow is the loggerhead sea turtle.
fun facts!
- The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is the most endangered turtle that nests in Australia.
- The loggerhead turtle has a very large head.
- Largest loggerhead turtle weighed 1,000lbs!
- The loggerhead is thought to be the largest living hard-shelled turtle. It is exceeded in length and weight only by the leatherback sea turtle.
- Loggerheads are the most common sea turtles in Florida.
VOCABULARY
- Carl Linnaeus- was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature.
- Carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans andarachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises.
- Plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a turtle, what one would call the belly or ventral surface of the shell.
Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.turtletime.org/sea-turtle-facts
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/loggerhead-sea-turtle/
http://www.turtletime.org/sea-turtle-facts
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/loggerhead-sea-turtle/