Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

Leatherback sea turtle
(Dermochelys coriacea)

TAXONOMY AND NAMING

Class : Reptilia
Order : Testudines
Family : Dermochelyidae
Gender/species : Epinephelus
Common names :
English : Leatherback sea turtle
Spanish : Tortuga laúd
French : Tortue luth

Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)© Brian J. Hutchinson

ANATOMY AND MORPHOLOGY

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell ; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named.

DISTRIBUTION AND LIFE HISTORY

The leatherback turtle is a species with a cosmopolitan global range. Of all the extant sea turtle species, D. coriacea has the widest distribution. The leatherback is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and its range extends well into the Arctic Circle. Leatherback sea turtles can be found primarily in the open ocean. Their favored breeding beaches are mainland sites facing the deep water, and they seem to avoid those sites protected by coral reefs.

Leatherback turtles face many predators in their early lives. Eggs may be preyed on by a diversity of coastal predators. They nest at night when the risk of predation and heat stress is lowest. Adults are prone to long-distance migration. Migration occurs between the cold waters where mature leatherbacks feed, to the tropical and subtropical beaches in the regions where they hatch. Mating takes place at sea. Males never leave the water once they enter it, unlike females, which nest on land.

Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) geographic range©IUCN red list

THREATS

The relative impacts of individual threats to all Leatherback subpopulations were assessed by order. Fisheries bycatch was classified as the highest threat to Leatherbacks globally, followed by human consumption of Leatherback eggs, meat, or other products, and coastal development. Due to lack of information, pollution and pathogens was only scored as affecting three subpopulations and climate change was only scored for two subpopulations.

ABUNDANCE AND CONSERVATION STATUS

The species is recognized as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

PROTECTION STATUS

The leatherback sea turtle is subject to differing conservation laws in various countries. Several Caribbean countries also started conservation programs.

CITES  : yes_Annex I

Protocole SPAW : yes since 1991_Annex II

USA Endangered Species Act  : 1973

Tab 1. International convention and protection for Leatherback sea turtles

Sea turtle national protection status in SPAW parties ©SPAW RAC

Bibliography

Piper, Ross (2007), Extraordinary Animals : An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, Greenwood Press.
"Species Fact Sheet : Leatherback Sea Turtle". Caribbean Conservation Corporation & Sea Turtle Survival League. Caribbean Conservation Corporation. 29 December 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2007.
The Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)". turtles.org. 24 January 2004. Retrieved 15 September 2007
Wallace et al. (2011)
Willgohs JF (1957). "Occurrence of the Leathery Turtle in the Northern North Sea and off Western Norway". Nature. 179 (4551) : 163–164. Bibcode:1957Natur.179..163W. doi:10.1038/179163a0. S2CID 4166581.
"WWF - Leatherback turtle". Marine Turtles. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 16 February 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2007.