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The flatback sea turtle was originally described as Chelonia depressa in 1880 by American herpetologist Samuel Garman.The genus Natator (meaning "swimmer") was created in 1908 by Australian ichthyologist Allan Riverstone McCulloch, and in the same scientific paper he described what he thought to be a new species, Natator tessellatus, thereby creating a junior synonym.
The turtles have been monitored since the February 2013 hatching season, and Queensland's Department of Environment and Science collects the data as part of a longterm turtle-monitoring project. Around 70 turtle nests were observed in the 2022 hatching season. [2] A project to restore the habitat of flatback turtles was launched on 7 January 2014.
In contrast to their earth-bound relatives, tortoises, sea turtles do not have the ability to retract their heads into their shells. Their plastron, which is the bony plate making up the underside of a turtle or tortoise's shell, is comparably more reduced from other turtle species and is connected to the top part of the shell by ligaments without a hinge separating the pectoral and abdominal ...
What is known as "bycatch" is a large contributor to sea turtle deaths, as seen in Baja California. [29] Longline, trawl, [30] and gillnet fishing are three types of fishing with the most sea turtle accidents. Deaths occur often because of drowning, where the sea turtle was ensnared and could not come up for air. [31]
The leatherback sea turtle is the largest sea turtle, reaching 1.4 to more than 1.8 m (4.6 to 5.9 ft) in length and weighing between 300 and 640 kg (661 to 1,411 lbs). [11] Other sea turtle species are smaller, ranging from as little as 60 cm (2 ft) long in the case of the Kemp's ridley, which is the smallest sea turtle species, to 120 cm (3.9 ...
Cheloniinae is a subfamily of the sea turtle family Cheloniidae. Its parent superfamily is Chelonioidea . The members of the subfamily, and genera that make it up, are:
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Modern sea turtle hatchlings also have dark shells; while a hatchling floats on the ocean's surface, its dark coloring enables it to absorb heat from the sun and avoid predatory birds. The existence of similar pigment on an ancient specimen suggests sea turtles evolved this survival trait millions of years ago.