Leatherback turtles are the largest species of turtles. Leatherback turtles live in the sea and travel long distances only to lay eggs and reproduce. In recent years, due to the harsh living environment, The number of leatherback turtles has dropped sharply. Some people predict that leatherback turtles will be completely extinct in the next 10 to 20 years and need people's protection.

Chinese name: leatherback turtle

Latin name: Dermochelys coriacea

English name: Leatherback Turtle

Nicknames: leatherback turtle, seven leatherback turtle, sampan turtle, swallow turtle

Kingdom: Animal Kingdom

Door: Chordate

Class: Reptiles

Order: Turtles

Family: Leatherback turtles

Genus: Leatherback

Species: Leatherback turtle

Distribution area: Distributed in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, the breeding ground is basically located between 30° north latitude and 20° south latitude. Individual feeders can occasionally follow currents up north to Iceland near latitude 70° N and south to Uruguay at latitude 35° S. It is distributed in the South my country Sea, East China Sea and Yellow Sea in China, and recorded in Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Liaoning and other provinces.

Population: unknown, but has fallen sharply, and may become extinct within 10 years.

Diet: mainly fish , shrimps, crabs, squid, snails, clams, starfish, sea cucumbers, jellyfish and seaweeds, and even jellyfish with stinging cells. It has no teeth in its mouth, but it has large and sharp horny thorns in the esophagus, which can grind food and then enter the stomach and intestines for digestion and absorption.

Leatherback turtles are large sea turtles that can grow up to two meters in length and 700 kilograms in weight. Leatherback turtles need a lot of food to maintain their normal metabolism. Leatherback turtles spend most of their time eating.

1. Characteristics of leatherback turtles

Leatherback turtles have paddle-shaped limbs, no claws, and particularly long phalanges on the forelimbs. The hind legs are short. The tail is very short. The back of the adult turtle body is dark brown or black, with yellow or white white spots, and the ventral surface is grayish white. The scales on the top of the leatherback glans are complex and irregular. The longitudinal edges and limbs of the larvae are pale yellow or white, and the abdomen is white with black spots.

Second, leatherback turtle shell

The bony shell of the leatherback turtle carapace is inlaid by hundreds of irregularly sized polygonal small bone plates, the largest of which forms 7 regular longitudinal rows Edges, hence the name. These longitudinal ribs extend into a pointed rump at the rear of the body, and the two longitudinal ribs on the sides of the body form an uneven nail border. The bony shell of the plastron has no inlaid small bony plates, and consists of many small bones firmly embedded in the dense tissue to form five longitudinal rows, of which the central row is split at the passage of the umbilical cord. Its mouth is hooked and its head is so large that it cannot be retracted into the carapace.

Leatherback turtles are mainly represented by fish, shrimps, crabs, squid, snails, clams, starfish, sea cucumbers, jellyfish and seaweeds, and even jellyfish with stinging cells and other seaweeds. It has no teeth in its mouth, but it has large and sharp horny thorns in the esophagus, which can grind food and then enter the stomach and intestines for digestion and absorption.

Although it is an ectothermic reptile, leatherback turtles from the tropics to the Arctic can maintain a body temperature of 25°C in 7°C water. Although its basal metabolic rate is much lower than that of mammals, its insulating volume effect helps maintain adequate heat. If in a warm climate, it increases the blood flow to the extremities, which greatly increases its heat loss, that is, a great deal of heat dissipation.

Leatherback turtles have poor eyesight. Therefore, they often eat plastic bags or other garbage floating on the sea surface as jellyfish and cause intestinal blockage. As a result, a large number of leatherback turtles die from white garbage made by humans.

Because leatherback turtles have huge limbs and become paddle-like, they can swim in the ocean for a long time and quickly, so there is a “smart swimmer” called. In 1970, a leatherback turtle was caught in the waters off the Yangtze River Estuary in my country, but the markings on its body indicated that it had also been captured in the British Atlantic Ocean, which is thousands of miles away, which shows its high swimming skills.

Although leatherback turtles have no teeth, they have a large number of spinous processes in their mouths. These hard spinous processes can help tear up food and then digest and absorb it. Leatherback turtles have a huge appetite, and food can provide a huge amount of energy for leatherback turtles to swim every day.

1. Food options for leatherback turtles

Leatherback turtles are mainly represented by fish, shrimps, crabs, squid, snails, clams, starfish, sea cucumbers, jellyfish and seaweeds, and even seaweeds such as jellyfish with stinging cells. It has no teeth in its mouth, but it has large and sharp horny thorns in the esophagus, which can grind food and then enter the stomach and intestines for digestion and absorption. Leatherback turtles have poor eyesight. Therefore, they often eat plastic bags or other garbage floating on the sea surface as jellyfish and cause intestinal blockage. As a result, a large number of leatherback turtles die from white garbage made by humans.

Two, leatherback turtle temperature regulation

Although it is an ectothermic reptile, leatherback turtles from the tropics to the Arctic can maintain a body temperature of 25°C in 7°C water. Because although its basal metabolic rate is much lower than that of mammals, its insulating volume effect helps maintain enough heat. If in a warm climate, it increases the blood flow to the extremities, which greatly increases its heat loss, that is, a great deal of heat dissipation.