Biology To adapt to the aqautic life, hte radius and ulna or the forlimd has been fused for greater rigidity. They also have a thick layer of blubber beneath the carapce for insulation.
Importance Leatherbacks high migratory lifestyle and unusual diets play an important role in ecology, they are also a major jellyfish predator and keep the population in check. The economic use for leatherbacks is in Asian countries people harvest leatherback eggs and fish for their meat.
Morphology The leatherback sea turtle is the most distinguished in the world. The symmerty of a leatherback sea turtle is bilateral. The carapace lelnght is about 62 inches and they can weigh anout 1050 pounds. Their limbs are all webbed with no claws.
Distribution Map
Facts 1. leatherbacks are not typically fished for like other turtles, because of the high fat and oil in their skin
2. The largest turtles on earth. 3. Evolutionary roots can be traced back more than 100 million years. 4. Leatherbacks can dive to depths of 4,200 feet. 5. The inky blue carpace is not hard like other turtles, it is somewhat flexible and rubbery.
Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Order: Testundines Family: Dermochelyidae Genus: Dermochelys Species: D. coriacea Common Name: Leatherback Turtle
Vocabulary 1. Rigidity- physical property of being stiff and resisting bending. 2. Migratory- animals that move seasonally. 3. Harvest- process or period of gathering. 4. Evolutionary- of or related of produced by evolution. 5. Depths- distance of the top of a surface to the bottom.