Marine Living

Sea turtles are reptiles that live in a marine or brackish environment. The flippers of sea turtles are long and paddle-like, making them excellent for swimming but poor for walking on land. Another characteristic that helps sea turtles swim easily is their streamlined carapace, or shell.

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Subclass: Anapsida Order: Testudines Family: Cheloniidae or Dermochelyidae

Sea turtles are classified in the Class Reptilia, Subclass Anapsida and Order Chelonii. There are seven recognized species of sea turtles, six of which are in the Family Cheloniidae (the hawksbill, green, flatback, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley and olive ridley turtles), with only one (the leatherback) in the family Dermochelyidae.

Sea turtles start their lives in eggs buried in the sand. After a two-month incubation, the young turtles hatch and run to the sea, facing attack by a variety of predators (e.g., birds, crabs, fish) along the way. They drift at sea until they are about a foot long and then, depending on the species, may move closer to shore to feed.

Sea turtles mature at around age 30. The males then spend their whole lives at sea, while females mate with the males at sea and then go to the beach to dig a hole and lay their eggs. Female sea turtles may lay eggs several times during a single season.

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