Turtles
Leatherback Turtle
Dermochelys coriacea · Marine reptile, family Dermochelyidae
The leatherback barely seems like a turtle at all. There is no hard shell, just a ridged carapace of black, leathery skin flecked with white, streamlined like a seed pod, hung with the longest front flippers in the family. It is a deep-ocean animal on a jellyfish economy, warm-blooded enough in practice to cruise off Nova Scotia and Norway, and it crosses entire oceans between nesting beaches and feeding grounds. Divers almost never meet one by design; the realistic encounter is a nesting female (an armored rowboat heaving up a tropical beach by night) or a heart-stopping pass in open water during a baitball season. List it among the ocean's privileges, not its itineraries.
Di mana dan kapan melihatnya
"Resident" berarti sebagian besar penyelaman di destinasi tersebut akan menjumpai mereka; "seasonal" berarti kehadirannya dapat diandalkan pada bulan-bulan yang tercantum; selain itu adalah bonus, bukan rencana.
| Destinasi | Keandalan | Bulan | Catatan |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrenadaGrenada | Rare | Apr–Jul | |
| Sodwana BaySouth Africa | Rare | Nov–Jan | |
| The Sardine Run (Wild Coast)South Africa | Rare | Jun–Jul | |
| DominicaDominica | Rare | Mar–Jul |
Bulan terbaik, sekilas pandang
| Bulan | Destinasi yang dapat diandalkan |
|---|---|
| January | Sodwana Bay |
| March | Dominica |
| April | Grenada · Dominica |
| May | Grenada · Dominica |
| June | Grenada · The Sardine Run (Wild Coast) · Dominica |
| July | Grenada · The Sardine Run (Wild Coast) · Dominica |
| November | Sodwana Bay |
| December | Sodwana Bay |
Memahaminya
Habitat: The open ocean; a pelagic wanderer that dives past 1,000 m for jellyfish and comes ashore only to nest
Sebaran: The widest range of any reptile, from tropical nesting beaches to sub-polar feeding grounds in both hemispheres
Perilaku: A warm-bodied ocean nomad: gigantothermy and specialized circulation let it hunt jellyfish in cold, deep water no other turtle tolerates. It almost never lingers where divers are; encounters are brief, awe-struck crossings in blue water or the regulated privilege of watching a female nest at night.
Diet: Jellyfish and other gelatinous animals almost exclusively, swallowed past backward-pointing throat spines
Ukuran: biasanya sekitar 1.5 m; terdokumentasi hingga 1.8 m (carapace length; the largest turtle alive, commonly 300–500 kg, with exceptional individuals larger still).
Cara berperilaku di sekitarnya
In-water: keep distance and never touch or impede. It will not stop for you anyway. On nesting beaches: permitted guided tours only, red or no lights, no flash, stay behind the guide, and never handle eggs or hatchlings.
Konservasi
Vulnerable globally with Pacific subpopulations in severe decline; egg harvest, longline bycatch, and plastic bags mistaken for jellyfish are the persistent killers. Beach protection in the Atlantic has produced real recoveries.
Situs-situs terdata yang dikenal dengan hal itu
Lokasi yang disorot dipetakan untuk spesies ini oleh editor kami; angka-angkanya adalah catatan kemunculan GBIF yang dicatat dalam radius sekitar 5 km dari suatu lokasi sejak 1990.
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