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sea turtle

sea turtle name for several species of large marine turtles found in tropical and subtropical oceans. These turtles are modified for life in the ocean by having flipperlike forelimbs without toes and lightweight shells. Their heads are too large to be withdrawn into the shell. They spend most of their lives in the water, but come ashore to lay their eggs. All sea turtle species are declining in numbers, owing in large part to the destruction of the eggs, which are widely used as food in tropical regions. Sea turtle meat is also eaten, and there is a market for turtle oil, hide, and shell. In a few places, such as Sarawak, harvesting of eggs is regulated by law to insure propagation of the species. The size of sea turtles has also decreased, owing to the hunting of large specimens. Nearly all species have a circumglobal distribution although there are differences between the Atlantic and the Pacific populations. Most sea turtles are found in North American waters as far N as the U.S. S Atlantic coast and Baja California. All but one species belong to the family Chelonidae. The green turtle, Chelonia mydas, with greenish to brownish skin and shell, formerly reached weights of 1,000 lb (450 kg); the largest now found are about 4 ft (120 cm) long and weigh about 500 lbs (225 kg). The green turtle feeds chiefly on marine vegetation and is most abundant in shallow water. The loggerhead, Caretta caretta, is a large-headed brown to reddish turtle. Chiefly carnivorous, it ranges from open oceans to coastal salt marshes and stream mouths. Like the green turtle it sometimes comes ashore to bask in uninhabited places. The hawksbill, or tortoiseshell turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, may reach 30 in. (75 cm) in length and weigh 100 lbs (45 kg). The horny plates of its shell are translucent and have a variegated color pattern, chiefly brown and yellow. These plates have long been valued for the making of ornamental objects. Although tortoise-shell has to a large extent been replaced in many applications by plastic, a renewed demand for the genuine material poses a serious threat to the hawksbill. The ridleys, the smallest sea turtles, inhabit shallow offshore waters. The 2-ft (60-cm) long, gray Atlantic ridley, Lepidochelys kempii, breeds only in the Gulf of Mexico, although the young are often carried by the Gulf Stream to the Carribean Sea and Europe. The slightly larger, greenish Pacific ridley, or oliveback ( L. olivacea ), is found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The leatherback is the largest of all turtles and, although a marine turtle, belongs to a separate family. All sea turtles other than the leatherback are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Chelonia, family Chelonidae.

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	Dear EarthTalk: what is the status of Sea Turtle protection efforts? Don't many of them die in fishnets and, as a result, are threatened with extinction? Magazine article from: EarthTalk: Questions & Answers About Our Environment. A Weekly Column; 7/1/2007; 615 words ; ...ridley and loggerhead. Sea turtles are protected in and...leatherback, Kemp's ridley and green turtle as endangered, while...remaining and beloved sea turtles. And the Convention...parts, also protects sea turtles. But such measures often... Read more
	Shell shock: sea turtles are in danger. This teen is here to help.(Cover story) Magazine article from: Know Your World Extra; 4/6/2007; 700+ words ; ...day at the beach is always fun. But without sea turtles, it might not be. Sea turtles help keep beaches from wearing away. Their...animals in sand dunes. But there is a problem: Sea turtles may soon be extinct. Luckily, Zander Srodes... Read more
	Sea turtle save.(CITIZENSHIP) Magazine article from: WR News, Edition 3 (including Science Spin); 4/3/2009; 291 words ; ...Sokolovic decide to do when she learned that sea turtles were in trouble? A lot! The student...500 for a local center that cares for sea turtles. The reptiles are at risk of losing...People overcrowd the beaches where sea turtles lay their eggs. Some of the animals... Read more
	Survival of the sea turtles.(Fire In The Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and The Fate Of The Ocean)(Sea Turtles of the World)(Brief Article)(Book Review) Magazine article from: E; 11/1/2003; ; 180 words ; While sea turtles have long outlived the dinosaurs, their...Public Affairs Books, $15). Worldwide, sea turtles have been struck by a deadly tumor...oceans are some of the other threats to sea turtles. Davidson skillfully takes the reader... Read more
	Banning longlines for loggerheads.(THIS WEEK)(Brief article) Newspaper article from: Our Planet; 5/4/2009; ; 229 words ; ...stave off extinction for endangered sea turtles, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...longlines away between May and October, when sea turtles feed and breed in the area. The ban...studies have shown that as many as 1,000 sea turtles--80% of them endangered loggerheads... Read more
	NMFS moves to lessen gillnet impact on turtles: restrictions target monkfish fleet's twine. (Gulf/South Atlantic).(National Marine Fisheries Service)(Brief Article) Magazine article from: National Fisherman; 3/1/2003; ; 239 words ; To protect migrating sea turtles, NMFS recently implemented gillnetting...inches used by monkfish gillnetters. Sea turtles have difficulty seeing large mesh...several years, high mortality in sea turtles off Virginia and North Carolina... Read more
	The origin, evolution, and demise of the U.S. sea turtle fisheries. Magazine article from: Marine Fisheries Review; 9/22/1994; ; 700+ words ; ...might sail over the Caribbean Sea, provided her tender doves...gastronomic relationships with sea turtles. There are indications that ancient Florida tribes had eaten sea turtles and then placed the skulls...United States not only because sea turtles were abundant, but also ... Read more
	Commentary: path of the sea turtle: one man in Mexico tries to save the dwindling turtle populations.(COMMENTARY)(Rene Pinal) Newspaper article from: Our Planet; 7/28/2008; ; 649 words ; Rene Pinal was inspired to help sea turtles when he first witnessed baby sea turtles being born on the beach near his ranch. Pinal...Coast of Baja, Mexico. At the time in 1982, sea turtles were first listed as endangered and Mexico... Read more
	The physiological effects of multiple forced submergences in loggerhead sea turtles.(Caretta caretta) Magazine article from: Fishery Bulletin; 10/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; Abstract--Sea turtles are subjected to involuntary submergence...one alternative explanation is that sea turtles are repetitively submerged (as one...multiple submergence of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Turtles in the... Read more
	Diet of oceanic loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the central North Pacific. Magazine article from: Fishery Bulletin; 1/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; Abstract--Diet analysis of 52 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) collected as bycatch...Pyrosoma spp.). ********** Loggerhead sea turtles are circumglobal, inhabiting temperate...Indian Oceans. In the Pacific, loggerhead sea turtles have been found in nearshore waters... Read more

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Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	turtle Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition ...their shells. The snapping turtle family (Chelydridae) is a...alligator snapper. Marine turtles are classified in two families...family Chelonidae includes five sea turtle species of tropical and subtropical...plastic debris, which some turtles eat by mistake, or by commercial...Commercial ... Read more
	green turtle Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition see sea turtle . Read more
	turtle deck Book article from: The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea turtle deck, the upper deck of a vessel constructed with a pronounced curve from the centreline of the vessel down to the sides. Its purpose is to assist overboard the flow of any sea water shipped over the bows. See also xebec . Read more
	turtle-boat Book article from: The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea turtle-boat, an American craft designed by the US engineer Robert Fulton (1765–1815), one of the pioneers of the development...of the British warship and explode them by pulling the lanyard. With a freeboard of a few centimetres, it was hoped the turtle-boat could be mistaken for a floating tree trunk or ... Read more
	Reptiles Book article from: Water:Science and Issues ...centimeters (4 inches) to the leatherback sea turtle, which can reach more than 2 meters...leave their shells. Excluding the sea turtles, most species are able to retract...development. The seven species of sea turtles have fully adapted to an aquatic... Read more

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