The loggerhead sea turtle is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when fully grown. The adult loggerhead sea turtle weighs approximately 135 kg (298 lb), with the largest specimens weighing in at more than 450 kg (1,000 lb). The skin ranges from yellow to brown in color, and the shell is typically reddish brown. No external differences in sex are seen until the turtle becomes an adult, the most obvious difference being the adult males have thicker tails and shorter plastrons than the females.
Loggerhead sea turtle
The carapace of this loggerhead is reddish brown; five vertebral scutes run down the turtle's midline bordered by five pairs of costal scutes.
A resting loggerhead sea turtle
An adult Aurelia jellyfish which loggerheads eat during migration through the open sea
Sea turtles, sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and olive ridley.
Six of the seven sea turtle species, all but the flatback, are present in U.S. waters, and are listed as endangered and/or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. All but the flatback turtle are listed as threatened with extinction globally on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The flatback turtle is found only in the waters of Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.
Sea turtle
An olive ridley sea turtle nesting on Escobilla Beach, Oaxaca, Mexico
Sea turtle sex depends on sand temperature while the egg is incubating.
A green sea turtle breaks the surface to breathe.