The Different Types of Turtles Found in the Waters of the U.S.

Six different types of turtles that make the sea their home can be found in the waters of the United States. All of these different types of turtles are either listed as threatened or endangered. The human population is directly connected to their demise as many of our activities and practices including urban sprawl along the coast are detrimental to their well being in a number of ways.

The Green Sea Turtle

The green sea turtle can boast being the biggest of the sea turtles that have hard shells. They can grow to sizes of over three feet and can weigh as much as 350 pounds. In relation to their bodies, their heads seem small but they are a visually appealing turtle with markings around the eyes and face. Their shells can be one of a variety of colors such as yellow, gray, green, black or brown.

The populations of the green sea turtle have drastically diminished in the last century. The reason behind this is believed to be the harvesting of their eggs, the capture of adults as they forage for food in waters along the coast as a delicacy for human consumption, and getting entangled in commercial fishing gear.

Loggerhead Sea Turtles

Another of the different types of turtles that are threatened is the loggerhead sea turtle. Though he is one of the more abundant of the sea turtles, he still faces many risks and dangers. The biggest problems facing the loggerhead are entanglement in commercial gear for fishing and the loss of many of their nesting sites.

Loggerhead sea turtles have big heads and the carapace can grow up to 3 ½ feet in length. Loggerheads can weigh as much as 400 pounds. Their coloring may be reddish brown or yellow in hue. They are carnivores and often feast on mollusks, crustaceans and other types of invertebrates

Leatherback Sea Turtles

These types of turtles are the giants of the sea weighing in at up to 1100 pounds and can reach lengths of nearly six feet. The shell of the leatherback is not hard like other turtles; instead they have a leather-like, rubbery consistency. A male can be distinguished from the female by his long, broad tail. This tail extends far beyond his carapace.

Their favorite type of food is jellyfish and they find themselves on the endangered list because human pollution has contributed to their demise. They may mistake plastic bags for their prey and can become ill from the consumption of these man-made products. The loss of nesting sites contributes to their standing as well as harvesting of eggs, and again getting tangled in the gear used for commercial fishing.

The other three types of turtles that can be found plying the United States coastline are the Hawksbill sea turtle, Olive ridley sea turtle and Kemp's ridley sea turtle. This species may be gone soon if conservation efforts fail them, and we as a society will lose another species to our blatant disregard of our fellow global creatures.

Pet Turtle Care Tip #1

Turtles are members of the Reptile family and they are some of the oldest living creatures on the planet. They have been around for more than two hundred million years. This makes them as old as the dinosaurs. There are hundreds of different kinds of turtles all over the planet.

Pet Turtle Care Tip #2

Sea turtles are the most popular of all of the turtles. These are also some of the largest creatures—some sea turtles can grow to more than six feet in length and weigh hundreds of pounds. Scientists think that sea turtles are actually land creatures that went back into the water and never came out. Over time their limbs evolved to make them stronger swimmers and to keep them in the water: their front appendages are actually flippers.

Pet Turtle Care Tip #3

All turtles, even sea turtles, are air breathing creatures. While some turtles can stay under the water for hours at a time, they all must surface at least once a day to stay alive. There is one turtle, the giant turtle that only has to surface once a day to take in air. There are some studies being done to see if some species of turtle might be able to draw oxygen from their cells much like some fish use their gills to breathe.

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