|
|
The cute sea turtle is a member of the
Chelonioidea family and one of the most ancient creatures of the
planet Earth. The adult sea turtles can be seen in estuaries,
coastal and shallow waters, lagoons and bays, the sea turtles
preferring the temperate and warm waters. The open sea is a
place preferred by some of the sea turtles. The juniors of some
species can be seen in estuaries, bays and at sea. The
difference between the sea turtles and the other species of
turtles is that the sea turtles can't retract their head and
their legs inside their shells. Their shells (or carapaces) is
the sea turtles` stream-lined for their swim in the water. The
magnetic field of the Earth is used by the sea turtles to
navigate being very sensitive to it. The sea turtles` color
varies from one species to another, the most frequent colors
being black, greenish and yellow, and their life expectancy is
about 80 years. The other thing that varies from one species of
sea turtle to another is the diet. Some of the sea turtles are
herbivorous, some of them are carnivorous and there are
omnivorous sea turtles too. The ridleys and the loggerheads eat
vegetation, mollusks, jellyfish, crabs and shrimps. The black
and the green turtles are herbivorous but in an aquarium they
are carnivorous. The leatherbacks eat soft-bodied animals like
tunicates and jellyfish. The hawksbill diet is made from
shrimps, sponges, squids and tunicates. The flat backs have in
their diet sea cucumbers, cuttlefish and seaweeds. It seems that
some of the sea turtles species change their preferences
regarding the food during their life. For example, the green sea
turtles are carnivorous at the beginning of their existence and
then they become herbivorous. |
|
