Marine Turtle Species Guide
Jun 16th, 2011 by wwftravel
On our Mozambique Odyssey you’ll have the opportunity to look for five different species of sea turtles. At first glance they might look similar, but upon closer observation you’ll find quite a few ways to tell one species from another.
© Andrey Nekrasov / WWF-Canon
Green Turtle
You can identify a green sea turtle by its skin, which is greenish in color. Its oval carapace (shell) is brown or greenish-yellow, and its head is small and blunt. The green turtle can grow up to 5 feet long and can reach up to 440 pounds.
© Carlos Drews / WWF-Canon
Olive ridley
The olive ridley’s skin is a dull green; its rusty-colored carapace has slightly up-turned edges. The average length is a little over two feet, and an adult weighs approximately 100 pounds.
© Michel Gunther / WWF-Canon
Loggerhead
The loggerhead turtle has a rusty-colored carapace that carries more encrusting organisms, such as barnacles, than the other marine turtle species. An adult weighs about 253 pounds and has a three-foot long carapace, making it one of the largest marine turtle species. This species is distinguished mainly by its large head and strong jaws.
© Martin Harvey / WWF-Canon
Hawksbill
The hawksbill has several distinguishable characteristics. For starters, its carapace is unusual among marine turtles because its scutes (the hard, bony plates that constitute the shell) are overlapping and often streaked and marbled with amber, yellow or brown. As its name suggests, the hawksbill has a narrow, pointed beak reminiscent of a bird of prey. Smaller than many sea turtles, a hawksbill weighs between 88 and 132 pounds, and its carapace is usually less than 3 ½ feet long.
© Ronald Petocz / WWF-Canon
Leatherback
The leatherback is the largest marine turtle and one of the largest living reptiles. It can weigh up to 1,100 pounds and its carapace can reach up to 6 feet in length. It is most easily distinguished by its carapace, which is leathery (not hard like other turtles’) and is dark with white spots. The species also has long front flippers.
Join WWF’s new Mozambique Odyssey, scheduled for March 4 – 21, 2012.