Sea turtles are large, air- breathing reptiles that inhabit tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world. Sea turtles’ bodies are covered with shells from above and below the body. They lack teeth, instead, they make use of their modified jaws for their particular diet. Their vision underwater is good, but they are nearsighted underwater.

Sea turtles, for the most part, utilize the shores as a means of leaving eggs of baby turtles. Only females come ashore to nest; males rarely return to land after crawling into the sea as hatchlings. Most females nest at least twice during each mating season

Once they get bigger, they appear at feeding grounds in nearshore waters. There is no way to determine the age of a sea turtle from its physical appearance. It is theorized that some species can live over 100 years. It is theorized that baby turtles spend their early years near the sargasso weeds, where all they do is eat and grow.

In just the past 100 years, demand for turtle meat, eggs, skin and colorful shells has dwindled their populations. Many breeding populations have already become extinct, and entire species are being wiped out.

Sea Turtle Classification KINGDOM - Animalia PHYLUM - Chordata CLASS - Reptilia ORDER - Testudines SUBORDER - Cryptodira FAMILY - Cheloniidae or Dermochelyidae GENUS and SPECIES - seven types of sea turtles

Types of sea turtles Loggerhead – the most seen species by far, is concentrated at Masirah island, Oman. Green turtle – endangered all around the world. Largest nesting site – Tortuguero, Costa Rica.

Leatherback – the largest, strongest, deepest swimming and farthest travelling species as of yet. Leatherbacks are seriously declining at all major nesting beaches throughout the Pacific. Hawksbill – it is a solitary nester, and thus, population trends or estimates are difficult to determine. The only known apparently stable populations were in Yemen, northeastern Australia, the Red Sea, and Oman.

Kemp's ridley - the most endangered of all sea turtles. The only major breeding site of the Kemp's ridley is on a small strip of beach at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. Olive ridley - this species’ nesting population has declined more than 80 percent since Gahirmatha (India) supports perhaps the largest nesting population with an average of 398,000 females nesting in a given year. Flatback - these are medium size turtles that inhabit coastal coral reef and grassy shallows in Australia and the Gulf of Papua, New Guinea. The shell is very smooth and waxy, and can be easily damaged.

Natural Habitat Sea turtle habitats are facing increasing threats including coastal development, artificial lighting, and marine pollution. Here are their main areas of habitation: BeachesLagoons

NearshoreCoral Reefs

Open Ocean - Area of open water lying over and beyond the continental shelf.

Threats The decline of the sea turtles’ population is based on several factors, but here are the main reasons, in my opinion: Sea turtles have been providing themselves as sources food for ages, but with coastal businesses and tourists gaining popularity these days, this is becoming a very serious issue.

Artificial lighting is discouraging female turtles from nesting their eggs near shores, thus damaging the population.

Oil spills from tankers infect both the sea turtles and the food they eat.

“Although these threats to sea turtles and destruction of their habitats seem almost too big to overcome, there are many things within our control that can be changed. Greater public awareness and support for sea turtle conservation is the first priority. By learning more about sea turtles and the threats they face, you can help by alerting decision-makers when various issues need to be addressed.” - Sea Turtle Convservancy