Written by Rachel Coyle, Project Officer
The leatherback turtle is the largest turtle species in the world, with adults growing up to 2m in length. Their larger body size and a layer of thick insulating fat, allows leatherbacks to survive in much colder waters than other turtles.
They can also swim further and deeper than other species. Unlike other sea turtles, the leatherback’s shell isn’t hard. Instead, as the name suggests, they have flexible, leathery skin in place of a hard shell. This allows the turtle to dive much deeper, reaching considerable depths below the ocean surface. At these depths the extreme water pressure would crush a less flexible body.
Leatherbacks undertake the longest migrations of any sea turtle, as such they are well adapted as swimmers. They have the largest front flippers of any sea turtle which they use to propel themselves through the water. They are also able to swim underwater for up to 85 minutes before resurfacing for air.
These particular turtles primarily feed on jellyfish and have adaptions which allow them to catch prey more easily. They have two sharp cusps on their upper jaw which they use to pierce and hold the invertebrate. Alongside, a series of backward pointing spines called papillae. These spines are not considered teeth, but sharp spikes used to prevent prey from slipping back into the water.
This species spends almost all their time in the ocean. Only females come ashore to lay eggs. For that reason, from the time they hatch and enter the surf, males will never be out of the water again meaning they are considerably more difficult to study than females!
Leatherback turtles have been frequently recorded in UK waters and are thought to be looking for jellyfish.
If you would like to learn more about leatherback turtles, please check out our website for more information.
*World Turtle Day is on 23rd May! Find out more about it here.*