This is probably because we have few turtle or eel grass beds in this area for them to eat. They are less common in North Carolina than loggerheads. Green sea turtles are named for the green color of their fat, not their shell as most people think. Green sea turtles are herbivores as adults. They can reach up to five feet and can weigh up to 650 pounds. Green sea turtles are larger than loggerheads. Loggerhead sea turtles have five scutes down each side of their shell, whereas greens only have four. It is possible to count the number of scutes on the shell to identify one from the other. Loggerhead and green sea turtles look similar as adults. Historically, they nested as far north as Virginia. These turtles nest as far north as Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina and as far south as Florida. Tagged adults have been found thousands of miles from where they were originally marked. Loggerheads tend to travel great distances. Sailors seeing the head poke above the surface to breathe would often mistake them for logs, so they named them loggerheads.
They may weigh as much as 500 pounds, but 350 pounds is more common. Some species have been known to swim up to 1900 miles in 23 days, against the current!Ī loggerhead sea turtle’s shell can reach 3-4 feet. Sea turtles travel many miles between nesting and feeding grounds during the year. Only the green sea turtle spends much time eating vegetables. Leathery projections line their throats and protect them from the sting of the jelly’s tentacles. A favorite food of most sea turtles is the jellyfish. Most sea turtles are carnivores, eating crabs, sponges, tunicates, clams and other mollusks. Their jaws are powerful and shaped like a bird’s beak. Like all turtles, sea turtles have no teeth. Because of their streamlined shape of their shell, a sea turtle cannot pull its head and flippers into its shell like a terrestrial turtle. To help them swim, sea turtles shells are very narrow and hydrodynamic. This allows them to move quickly through the water. Unlike terrestrial turtles, sea turtles have flippers instead of feet. Sea turtles are reptiles and therefore are ectothermic (cold blooded), lay eggs, and have scaly skin, claws and lungs. Although each of the sea turtles is unique, they share many general characteristics.
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