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.
在哪里、什么时候能见到
"常驻"表示在该目的地潜水时大多数情况下都能遇见它们；"季节性"表示在所列月份内可靠出现；其他任何情况都是意外惊喜，而非计划中的保障。
| 目的地 | 可靠性 | 月份 | 备注 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrenadaGrenada | Rare | Apr–Jul | |
| Sodwana BaySouth Africa | Rare | Nov–Jan | |
| The Sardine Run (Wild Coast)South Africa | Rare | Jun–Jul | |
| DominicaDominica | Rare | Mar–Jul |
最佳月份一览
| 月份 | 可靠目的地 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
深入了解
栖息地: The open ocean; a pelagic wanderer that dives past 1,000 m for jellyfish and comes ashore only to nest
分布范围: The widest range of any reptile, from tropical nesting beaches to sub-polar feeding grounds in both hemispheres
习性: 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.
食性: Jellyfish and other gelatinous animals almost exclusively, swallowed past backward-pointing throat spines
体型: 通常约 1.5 m; 记录深度可达 1.8 m (carapace length; the largest turtle alive, commonly 300–500 kg, with exceptional individuals larger still).
与它相处时的行为守则
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.
保育
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.
以此著称的已标注潜点
高亮显示的潜点由编辑团队为该物种标注；数字为1990年以来潜点约5公里范围内的GBIF出现记录数。
观看
来自官方渠道
Wildlife of Monterey | New film in our auditorium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
视频均为创作者自有频道的嵌入链接。我们不托管任何内容，所有来源均注明出处。