of the world
what are marine turtles? Reptiles who moved back from the land to the sea. Old species: living more than 250 million years on the planet! Migratory species: they are moving thousands of kilometers on their migration through the oceans. A species threatened to face extinction! AgA
...this are marine turtles! Front-legs formed as flippers with one ore two claws. Hind-legs formed as steering-paddles. Steam-lined design of their shell. All extremities not retractable any more. All marine species have salt-glands near the eyes. MK
...this are marine turtles! All species can live in the open ocean. The leatherback-turtle and the Olive Ridley turtle live manly in the open ocean. Only the females crawl out of the water for laying eggs.
Mating: (usually) at sea...the Reproduction! Deposition of the eggs: the females leave the sea at night and crawl up the beach way behind the high-tide-mark of the selected beach. Digging of the hole with the hind-flippers. They stop digging when they can't reach the bottom any more. Turtles cry on land to get rid of the surplus salt in their bodies.
..the Reproduction! Egg-deposition in average all 3 years, but then 2 to 5 times a season. Duration of the egg- deposition: up to 30 minutes. Amount: 50 to 200 eggs per clutch. The hole is covered with sand afterwards and the exhausted female moves back to the sea.
..the Reproduction! The young turtles hatch after 1 to 2½ months. The most dangerous part: crawling to the sea. Dangers? Dogs, cats, foxes, crabs, birds and other animals; light, sandcastles, vehicle tracks on the beach AgA AgA
...the Reproduction! After hatching, the young turtles wait in the nest until dark. Then they all together crawl out of the nest and move as fast as possible to the water. AgA Loggerhead-hatchling Green-turtle-hatchling MK
...threats! Artificial light (street lighting, flashlights, torches) attracts the hatchlings magically. So they can't find the sea any more! AgA AgA
Biggest danger: humans!..threats! Harvesting of nests: In 1936, 36 millions of eggs were harvested in Indonesia! Up to date especially in SE-Asia and South-America thousands of nests annually! Markus Keller In the Mediterranean, nestrobbing is now rare. But: Foxes, homeless dogs and cats, crabs and other animals are searching for turtle-eggs as food!
..threats! Long-line-fishing: a massive danger for turtles. International hunting: food tortoiseshell prawn-fisheries: Annually over ten thousand fatalities as by catch. Plastic garbage for turtles a fatal food source! and the rubbish dumped in the sea is getting more and more!
How many species of turtles live in the oceans? altogether 8 species. euroturtle.org
euroturtle.org
euroturtle.org
euroturtle.org
The Hawksbill-turtle...is much sought after for their tortoiseshell! MK
euroturtle.org
euroturtle.org
euroturtle.org
Characteristics: The Green Turtle Biggest marine turtle with a solid shell. Length of shell up to 1,4 m, weight up to 250 kg possible! Distribution: including the Mediterranean. The main Mediterranean nesting areas are in Turkey. Young green turtles are manly carnivorous. Adults become manly vegetarians. MK
Characteristics: 2 to 5 clutches with each 50 to 200 soft-shelled eggs. was (and is still) sought for their meat. The Green Turtle MK MK
euroturtle.org
Characteristics: The Loggerhead Turtle Shell up to 1 m length. Weight up to 130 kg. massive head ( loggerhead ) They eat everything: Crabs, shells, sea-urchins, jellyfish, fish and sea grass. Loggerheads are the most widespread species in the Mediterranean. AgA
The Loggerhead Turtle Their nesting areas are far away from the equator: north or south from the tropic of Capricorn or Cancer (23 N/S). Dalyan is one of the most important nesting areas in the Mediterranean. AgA euroturtle.org
euroturtle.org
The Leatherback Turtle Biggest marine turtle: Shell up to 2 m and a total weight of 750 kg : the Queen of the seas! Characteristics: leathery shell, no bigger bony structure. Huge flippers without claws, soft head. Eats mostly jellyfish. Can regulate body temperature. Dive-depth over 1000 m are recorded.
Characteristics: The Leatherback Turtle 7 streamlined ridges on the back of the body black, often with white dots. leathery soft shell: necessary for deep-diving (pressure) extremely rare in the Mediterranean, no nesting in that area. AgA
The Leatherback Turtle Special threads for the leatherback turtle: Most nesting beaches vanish for construction and tourism. Deep-see fishing for tuna and swordfish with long line or nets Plastic-garbage seen as food
The Nile Soft-shell Turtle Trionyx tringuis
The Nile Soft-shell Turtle lives manly in Freshwater and estuaries up to 1,20 m shell lengh found. snorkel-like snout, eyes on top of the head. is found regularly at sea and uses locally same nesting habitat as marine turtles MK
Horn-jaws as teeth. The Nile Soft-shell Turtle MK
The Nile Soft-shell Turtle Flattened, pancake-shaped shell covered with thick leathery skin MK
The Nile Soft-shell Turtle Each flipper with 3 massive claws (Trionyx = three-claws ). MK MK
strong legs formed as flippers The Nile Soft-shell Turtle MK
The Nile Soft-shell Turtle Interesting facts: can stay up to 15 hours under water! mainly fisheater; but also worms, snails, crabs,... active at night, dusk and dawn the Mediterranean subpopulation is critically endangered holding only about 500 to 1000 adults. MK MK
in the name of Die all turtles: Lederschildkröte Thank you very much for your attention and hopefully see you again soon! Bye bye!
The Caretta Action Network CAN is a co-project of the Aktionsgemeinschaft Artenschutz e.v. and the Bund Deutscher Tierfreunde e.v. The pictures made availible for this presentation are from: Seaturtle.org (13) AgA(9) Markus Keller (13) All grafics from Euroturtle.org on all pictures and graphics. Contact: AgA e.v. Tulpenstraße 1 70825 Korntal-Münchingen www.aga-international.de
Trionyx triunguis pictures: MK
Trionyx triunguis pictures: MK
Trionyx triunguis pictures: MK
Trionyx triunguis pictures: MK
Trionyx triunguis pictures: Bye bye and thank you very much for your attention! MK