Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Facts

Size	35-47 in (90-120 cm)
Speed	Up to 15 mph (24 km/h) (in the water)
Weight	298 lb (135 kg)
Lifespan	50-60 years
Food	Crabs, jellyfish, urchins, seaweed, cephalopods
Predators	Birds, crabs (only juveniles)
Habitat	Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans
Class	Reptiles
Order	Turtles
Family	Sea turtles
Scientific name	Caretta caretta
Characteristics	One of the most popular sea turtles

Main Characteristics

The loggerhead turtle is a sea turtle. It is the most widespread worldwide and also the most common. Despite this, it is now considered an endangered species.

The loggerhead turtle is one out of seven sea turtles species. These include: the Atlantic green sea turtle, the Pacific green turtle, the hawksbill turtle, the flatback sea turtle, the Kemp's ridley turtle, the Olive ridley sea turtle and the loggerhead sea turtle.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Photo: NaturePicsFilms/stock.adobe.com

Anatomy and Appearance

Size and Weight

An adult loggerhead sea turtle typically weighs around 298 pounds (135 kg). The largest weighed more than 1,200 pounds (545 kg) and had a shell length of 82 inches (213 cm). The green sea turtle is usually slightly larger but weighs slightly less. However, the two species are definitely the largest turtles with a hard shell.

Head

The loggerhead turtle has a particularly large head.

Shell

The loggerhead sea turtle is the only sea turtle that has five central scutes and five side scutes (= plates). Depending on the age of the animals, their scutes have protruding edges and appear to overlap.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Photo: Shutterstock

Habitat

Loggerhead turtles live in tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. It is the most widespread of all species. They spend most of their time in shallow coastal waters. During their migrations they spend a lot of time in the open sea. The loggerhead and green sea turtles are the only species that also live and breed in the Mediterranean.

Life Style

Loggerhead turtles are loners. They swim thousands of miles through the oceans. Yet, about 15-20 years after having been born they keep returning to the same beach for mating again and again.

Diet

The loggerhead turtle is an omnivore. It feeds on sponges, corals, anemones, starfish and jellyfish.

Senses and Abilities

Longest Migration of a Turtle

This turtle never gets tired! In 1996, the loggerhead sea turtle Adelita swam a distance of more than 9,000 miles (14,500 km) from Mexico via Hawaii to Japan. This was the first time, the route of an animal across an entire ocean has been tracked by means of an electronic transmitter. The turtle swam at a speed of about 1.6 km/h and it took her nearly a year to cover the distance.

Magnetic Sense

Loggerhead sea turtles have a kind of "magnetic map” in their heads. This helps them to never get lost and always find the way back to their place of birth.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Photo: NaturePicsFilms/stock.adobe.com

Life Expectancy

Loggerhead turtles live to be 50-60 years old.

Enemies and Threats

The loggerhead turtle has hardly any natural enemies - but they have to be afraid of humans.

Hunting

They are hunted for their meat, their eggs are sold as delicacies, and their fat is used in expensive cosmetics or shady medicines. Their shells are is used for jewelry. The material is called "tortoise shell".

Pollution and Climate Change

They eat plastic that floats in the sea because they mistake it for food and die from it as a result. Due to climate change and higher temperatures, more and more females are developing - there are hardly any males hatching.

Fishing

However, the greatest danger comes from fishermen. When they cast their nets to catch fish, many turtles become entangled and miserably drown. For these reasons, the animal species is highly endangered.

Photo: Agami Photo Agency/Shutterstock

Importance for the Eco System

The loggerhead sea turtle helps maintain the health of coral reefs. For example, they ensure that there are not too many sponges, jellyfish and other invertebrates. They also eat seaweed, encouraging it to grow and thrive. They are like gardeners who tend hedges and shrubs by trimming them from time to time.

Reproduction

Loggerhead turtles mate in the water. They circle each other until the female agrees. The female then swims to the beach where she was born to lay her eggs. It digs a hole in the sand with its fins and lays about 110-20 eggs in it. After 45-70 days, the young hatch - at night, because at this time of the day only few enemies are around.

If the sand temperature was below 82,4 degreees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius), male offspring develop. Above 81,8 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celsius) there are females hatching. In between, they can become female or male. Most of the time the temperature is between 28 and 31 degrees Celsius, so that a healthy mix sees the light of day.

As soon as they have got rid of their eggs, which are just measuring 1.5 inches (4 cm), they wander off into the sea. But how do they find their way in the dark from a large sandy hollow after just having come into the world? They use the moon for orientation. The light of the moon gets refracted in the water and thus generates a big light source. The little turtles simply run up to it.