Sea turtles (Chelonioidae) can be found in all of the worlds oceans except the Arctic ocean. Some species of the sea turtles do not just live within one ocean, but they travel between different oceans. The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the largest of the sea turtles and measure about 6-7 ft in length and 3-5 ft in width and can weigh up to 1300 pounds when it reaches sexual maturity. Most of the other species of seat turtles are much smaller in size, averaging about 2-4 ft in length and much smaller in width. There are seven different types of sea turtles, they are Kemp's Ridley, Flatback, Green, Olive Ridley, Loggerhead, Hawksbill and the Leatherback. All of them, except the Leatherback, belong to the family Chelonioidea and the Leatherback belongs to the family Dermochelyidae. The sea turtles are distinguished/identified by different features they have. Some of these features are scales on the head or the number and shape of scutes on the carapace. The Leatherback sea turtle is the only one that does not contain a hard shell covering its exterior, instead it has a mosaic of bony plates that are beneath its leathery skin.
Sea turtles have a very good sense of both time and location. They are very sensitive to the earths magnetic field and they use it to help them navigate. Sea turtles, if given the chance, can live up to 198yrs. Most sea turtles head back to the location where they were born to nest, which means that location must have imprint in its magnetic features. Most species nest individually, but the Ridley turtle go ashore in one mass, known as the "arribada" (arrival). The kemp's Ridley, this happens on the beach during the day and only on one particular beach in the entire world. There use to be larger numbers, but now, there is an extensive amount of poaching and hunting for turtle eggs, which has lowered the numbers. It is illegal to hunt turtles, but they are caught worldwide, mainly for the food industry. Some of them are even hunted for their shells. Turtles are very important, not only to humans but to the oceans and beaches as well. If turtles were to become extinct, then there would be a significant negative impact to the beaches and oceans.
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