Photos of sea turtles - sea turtle habitat. Sea turtle respiratory organs Sea turtle characteristics

Sea turtle family (Cheloniidae) - unites large ocean and sea turtles that have an oval or heart-shaped shell covered with horny scutes. These marine animals have a large head and flipper-like limbs that do not retract under the shell. The length of the shell in different species can range from 67-68 cm for the olive turtle and reach 140 cm (almost one and a half meters!) for the green turtle.

Sea turtles in the wild

These ancient animals have extraordinary unique abilities in the field of navigation. Scientists who study turtles believe that sea turtles navigate by our Earth's magnetic field. After all, they have the ability to unerringly return to the place of their birth after many years. For example, the Atlantic ridley, which is on the verge of extinction, breeds only on one single beach, located in Mexico.

Sea turtles live about 80 years. Females reach sexual maturity at approximately 30 years of age, and for the first time in their lives they return to the beach where they hatched from their eggs many years ago. Throughout the entire nesting year, once every 2 or 4 years, females lay from 4 to 7 clutches, which contain 150 to 200 eggs.

Leatherback turtle (lat. Dermochelys coriacea) lays eggs

The mating process in sea turtles occurs in the sea, in the coastal zone. Often the female receives from the male such an amount of sperm that is enough for not one, but several clutches.

All species of sea turtles create a clutch in the following way: the female finds a suitable place on the beach and rake the sand with her hind paws until she gets a round depression with a depth of 40 to 50 centimeters. The female lays eggs, covers them with sand, then carefully compacts the sand, trying to make the clutch invisible.

The whole process from start to finish lasts about an hour, then the female, having completed her mission, leaves the beach and returns to the ocean, never again caring for her offspring.

Unfertilized eggs may be found in clutches, but this happens quite rarely. The incubation period lasts about 2 months and depends entirely on the temperature of the sand in which the masonry is located.

In some countries, “closed” turtle farms have been created, their goal is to protect and restore rare species of sea turtles.

Also, the sex of future turtles depends on the temperature of the sand. Females develop at higher temperatures, and males at lower temperatures. Also, if the temperature is too low or abnormally high, the death of the cubs cannot be ruled out. When the incubation period ends, small sea turtles break through the egg shell with a special egg tooth and climb out through the thickness of the sand into the air.

Even at this stage, mortality among turtles is very high. After all, most of the small turtles that emerge from the sand will be eaten by either land or sea predators and will never reach maturity and will not leave offspring...

For each clutch, the percentage of turtles that have reached sexual maturity does not exceed a hundredth part, and this is a serious obstacle to the restoration of the population of these various ancient marine animals.

Byssa (lat. Eretmochelys)

Classification of sea turtles

Now, let's look at the types of sea turtles that can be found in the vast seas and oceans of our planet:

Subfamily Carettinae
- Genus Caretta-loggerhead sea turtles or loggerheads;
- View Caretta caretta– carriage, loggerhead (sea) turtle or loggerhead.
  - Genus Lepidochelys– olive turtles or ridleys;
  - View Lepidochelys kempii- Atlantic Ridley;
- View Lepidochelys olivacea- olive ridley or olive turtle;

Subfamily Cheloniinae
- Genus Chelonia- green or soup turtles;
  - View Chelonia mydas- green (sea) turtle or soup turtle;
- Genus Eretmochelys- bissas
  - View Eretmochelys imbricata- bissa (biss);
- Genus Natator
  - View Natator depressus(previously called Chelonia depressa) - Australian green turtle;

Leatherback turtle family ( Dermochelyidae)
View Dermochelys coriacea is a leatherback turtle.

Extinct species of sea turtles:

Itilochelys rasstrigin- an extinct species that lived about 63 million years ago. back in Russia, on the territory of the Volgograd region.

Atlantic ridley (lat. Lepidochelys kempii)

Keeping sea turtles in captivity

Absolutely all representatives of different species of sea turtles must be kept exclusively in high-quality sea water and always in large pools. After all, large adult animals require a lot of free space to swim. The best option for swimming are pools without sharp corners. With water temperatures from 22 to 26 C.

These marine animals have a very intense metabolism. Therefore, very good water filtration is vital for them. Human waste and various food waste must be regularly removed from the bottom of the pool.

Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas)

Most sea turtles, especially at an early age, prefer food of animal origin. Therefore, in order to prevent water pollution, it is not recommended to feed animals with fish such as cod (due to its very soft meat) and herring (due to its high fat content).

With age, the gastronomic interests of turtles change, and they begin to give greater preference to plant foods. Therefore, when keeping sea turtles in captivity, they can be given not only algae, but also spinach. But it’s better not to offer them lettuce leaves, because... they quickly pollute the water.

The leatherback turtle (lat. Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of the turtles living in the World Ocean.

Sea turtles appeared about 200 million years ago and have remained virtually unchanged. Scientists have concluded that all species of sea turtles are descended from one single species;

These animals, while underwater during sleep, are able to hold their breath for almost two hours;

All sea turtles are excellent divers, for example, leatherback turtles, in pursuit of their favorite delicacy - jellyfish, are able to dive hundreds of meters. It would seem that when diving to such a depth, very high pressure could rupture the air-filled lungs, but this does not happen. Thanks to their unique structure, these sea turtles push air out of their collapsing lungs.

Loggerhead or loggerhead turtle (lat. Caretta caretta)

After this, they begin to consume the oxygen stored in the red blood cells and muscles. Unlike most mammals, turtles have a higher concentration of red blood cells, as well as a lot of myohemoglobin, an oxygen-binding protein found in muscles.

Constantly swallowing seawater would kill a sea turtle if nature had not endowed it with special salt glands that go into the eyes, along with the tear ducts. With the help of these glands, the turtle gets rid of excess salt in its body. When the female comes to the beach to lay her eggs, she appears as if she is crying. But these are not tears, but a secretion that is secreted by these glands, protecting the turtle's eyes from the sand that gets into the eyes when it digs a hole to lay its eggs.

Australian green turtle (lat. Natator depressus)

Finally

And, despite the fact that sea turtles have been studied quite well. They never cease to amaze both scientists and nature lovers. Today we got to know this “living fossil” in general terms, and you can learn more about different species of both sea and freshwater turtles on the pages of the online magazine “The Underwater World and All Its Secrets.”

The red-eared or yellow-bellied turtle is the most common reptile among animal lovers. People call it a sea turtle, although it lives in fresh water. In pet stores, small turtles attract customers with their unusual coloring and cute appearance. When purchasing it, people do not know how to care for a sea turtle.

The sea turtle feels good at home, so it is suitable for beginner animal lovers. They are considered long-livers (20–40 years), provided that the rules of care are followed. By nature, the reptile is sometimes aggressive, but at the same time strong and fast. When it comes to food, the red-eared turtle exhibits mental abilities. Therefore, in the wild in Australia, they supplanted their counterparts and are now considered outlaws and exterminated.

Buying a Yellow-bellied Turtle

When buying a reptile at a pet store or market, it is recommended to take it to a veterinarian for examination. This is necessary to determine the general condition, whether there are diseases, and to look for the presence of injuries.

If you already have sea turtles at home, and you purchased another one, then the new one must be kept separately for 90 days. It is also impossible to keep adults and small ones in the same place, this can lead to injury to the latter. Only turtles of approximately the same size are kept together.

After changing its place of residence, the turtle behaves inhibited or, conversely, actively. During this period, you must not disturb her, but do not forget to feed her.

How to handle it correctly

When a person wants to pick up a turtle, it is recommended to remember that it is wet and slippery. She doesn’t like these manipulations, so she hisses, can scratch, since she has large claws, and is even capable of biting. Therefore, the pet must be held with both hands at the same time.

After spending time with the reptile, you need to wash your hands with hygiene products, since it is a waterfowl and has its own microflora. It is necessary to ensure that the food and water in the container are fresh. Turtles spread salmonella. Therefore, it is forbidden to wash the reptile in the kitchen sink and its accessories too.

What is required for maintenance and care

To ensure proper home care you need to purchase:

at 150 l. aquarium;
filter;
heating for water;
lamp;
UV lamp;
thermometer for water and air;
island.

All these things from a long list are necessary for a pet to live a healthy life.

Caring for a turtle

Sea turtles require water and land. Therefore, the first thing to do is purchase an aquarium with a volume of at least 150 liters. If the reptile is small, then it grows relatively quickly. Because of this, it is recommended to buy a container “for growth”. Water is poured so that there is enough for the pet to swim and turn over.

An island of sushi is placed in the aquarium; it is sold in a specialized store. The pet will periodically crawl out and bask under the installed lamp. The temperature on land exceeds water temperature by 10 degrees. The island should occupy a quarter of the aquarium in area. But exceeding the temperature regime on the island is unacceptable. This will lead to overheating, which means maintenance will not be performed properly.

Requirements for the island:

one side of the land should be immersed in water, that is, half-flooded;
position the land so that the reptile does not get stuck between the glass of the aquarium and the side of the land;
made of safe materials;
stayed well on the water so that the pet could not turn it over;
textured surface.

How to heat an island

Turtles love to bask on the sand under the sun's rays. This should be done at home, only instead of the sun there will be a lamp. The reptile feels good when the temperature of the shell under the lamp is 30–35 degrees. To monitor this parameter, you must place a thermometer. If the thermometer readings exceed the norm, the pet may get burns. We must not forget that if there is more than one turtle in the aquarium, they love to climb on top of each other. This makes it dangerous to get close to a heat lamp.

When diving, your pet splashes drops in different directions. They can get on a working lamp, as a result, it will burst. This means that the lamp is positioned in such a way as to exclude all these moments.

What is an ultraviolet lamp for?

Warmth and light are two main components of a pet’s health. Therefore, the aquarium is equipped with two lamps for heating and ultraviolet. Under a UV lamp, the turtle's body absorbs calcium and produces vitamin B. If the body lacks these substances, the pet gets rickets, and its shell becomes deformed. The UV lamp is placed directly above the reptile and should be run simultaneously with the heat lamp for 12 hours a day.

Water requirements

The red-eared turtle is a waterfowl reptile. She feeds, defecates, and sleeps in water. Therefore, water should always be clean and fresh. Dirty food causes discomfort to the pet and is a source of disease.

The lowest water level in a container is measured by the size of its shell. She should calmly roll over onto her stomach if she ends up on her back. But the declared level is the lowest. Ideally, more water is recommended, then it stays clean longer.

When changing water, it must be left for 24 hours. It is important to ensure that the water does not drop to 20 degrees, but is between 22–28 degrees. If it is necessary to heat the water, install a heater. The water temperature is controlled using a thermometer.

Since the pet performs all its physiological needs in the aquarium, the water becomes dirty and smells unpleasant. To avoid this, change the water once every 7 days. To perform this procedure less frequently, you need to install a filter. The internal filter does not cope with water after the turtle, it is weak. Of course, you can buy an external filter, it fits perfectly, but its price is not cheap.

How to feed your pet

The sea turtle's diet is varied:

artificial food;
fish;
fish food;
vegetables;
insects;
plants for the aquarium.

But with all the variety, it is necessary to control so that the reptile does not overeat. For this purpose, it is recommended to use a calcium diet from time to time. The pet loves to hunt for its prey, but does not refuse carrion. The main thing is to remember to add calcium to your menu. The turtle does not produce saliva while eating, so it pulls the food into the water. You can use this for your own benefit, that is, feed your pet in another container with water, then the water in the aquarium will remain clean longer.

It is important to know that the older the turtle, the more plant foods it eats and the less protein. Therefore, the diet of an adult or old turtle consists of 25% protein and 75% plant foods.

Hibernation

Under natural conditions, reptiles hibernate during the winter season. If the pet lives at home, then this is contraindicated. The owners of the reptile may not have enough knowledge to properly organize care during the sleep period or may not be able to bring the turtle out of hibernation.

When getting a pet, a person must understand what responsibility he takes on. After all, any living creature needs proper nutrition, and most importantly, the love and attention of its owner.

General characteristics.

sea turtles belong to the class of reptiles of the turtle family (Testudines) of the superfamily (Cheloniidae). Science has proven that they appeared in nature more than 220 million years ago. Sea turtles are classified into families, subfamilies, genera and species. In total, there are 6 species of sea turtles, which are grouped into 4 species of one family (Cheloniidae).
Until now, zoological scientists do not have a consensus on their classification. Some classify turtles as a subclass of parareptiles, and some even try to separate them into a separate class. That is why in this article we will not dwell on this topic in detail.

Habitat.
Sea turtles live mainly in tropical seas and in warm currents of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. However, cases of their appearance have been recorded in the cold waters of the Barents Sea and in the Far East. And this is not surprising, because sea turtles are excellent swimmers and spend most of their lives in the water, easily covering thousands of nautical miles. On land, they choose mainly for mating and laying eggs.

Physiological characteristics of the sea turtle.
A characteristic feature of the structure of sea turtles is their horny or bone-horny shell, which covers the main part of their body, performing the function of passive protection.
The carapace consists of strong dorsal and ventral shields called the carapace and plastron, respectively. Unlike their land relatives, sea turtles do not have the ability to retract their heads and limbs into their shells.
In addition, life in the water element has transformed their limbs into peculiar flippers, which are pronounced in large turtles and less so in small ones, and in some species, there are only swimming membranes between the fingers. The forelimbs of turtles are more developed than the hind limbs, which allows them to maneuver well in water and reach speeds of up to 35 km/h, which, given their rather large size, is a very good result. The jaws are completely devoid of teeth and covered with strong horny plates, reminiscent of a beak in shape.
The main food for small sea turtles is zooplankton and nekton, and the diet of large turtles includes small jellyfish and various crustaceans, although with age they prefer to eat exclusively plant foods (sea grasses, limnophilic algae and elodea), which are obtained in deep coastal waters more than 10 meters.

Sea turtles are quite large in size. The green sea turtle is considered the largest in their family, the maximum weight of which can reach 200 kg, and the length from head to tail is more than one and a half meters. The size of the turtle shell of such turtles varies from 80 to 120 cm in diameter. The record holder, listed in the Guinness Book of Records, is a leatherback turtle, whose length was about three meters, and it weighed almost a ton - 916 kg.!!!
The smallest representative of its relatives is the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea). Its weight usually does not exceed 50 kg, and the diameter of the shell is 50-70 cm. In terms of size, all other species of sea turtles occupy a niche between the two above-mentioned species.

The place for sea turtles to lay eggs is the islands on which they were born. Scientists have not yet come to a consensus on how they find these islands, located several thousand miles away.
According to one version, turtles orient themselves in space using the earth’s magnetic field, but there is still no significant evidence confirming such a theory.
For example, the Atlantic ridley, which lives in the waters of western Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, constantly migrates from these along the coasts of Venezuela, Morocco, Cameroon, and young individuals are even found in the territorial waters of the Netherlands, Spain, France, Belgium, Ireland and Great Britain. However, it has been established that it breeds (lays eggs) only on one single beach in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sexual maturity of female turtles occurs at approximately the age of 30 years, after which they come to land every 2 or 4 years, dig deep holes and lay in them from 150 to 200 eggs, the size of a chicken. Moreover, in order to preserve offspring from various predators, turtles make 4-7 such clutches. The incubation period from the moment of laying eggs to the appearance of offspring is 50-70 days.

The average lifespan of sea turtles is 70-80 years.
Since ancient times, along with natural disasters, the main enemy of sea turtles has been humans. That is why many species are now on the verge of extinction. Turtles themselves were also used as food (the famous turtle soup) and turtle eggs, which are high in calories (155 calories per 100 grams) and contain various useful minerals (iodine, iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium), as well as vitamins A, E , D and B.
And although the situation has recently begun to gradually change for the better, more and more often certain species of turtles are listed in the Red Book and taken under protection by government agencies in many countries and various animal protection organizations.

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sea turtles belong to the class of reptiles of the turtle family. This family includes six species (source: www.reptile-database.org) of sea and ocean turtles, five of which are found in the Red Sea.

For tens of millions of years, since the Mesozoic era, the structure of sea turtles has remained virtually unchanged. Sea turtles differ from representatives of their land relatives by the presence of flipper limbs covered with horny plates, of which the front ones are much longer than the back ones, and the presence of a flat, streamlined dorsal-abdominal shell.

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Sometimes it is also called a soup turtle - it is a very large sea animal, the length of its shell is 1.1 m, and its weight reaches 450 kg. It differs from other members of the family in having a non-hooked upper jaw and, despite the name, its coloring on top is not only olive green, but often dark brown, with yellowish and white spots and stripes.

It lives in all tropical seas and migrates over very long distances to breed. Back in the mid-twentieth century, American herpetologist (reptile specialist) Archie Carr, using the method of tagging green turtles, established that they can swim about 2,600 km in order to lay eggs on the sandy shore of Ascension Island. The scientist suggested that turtles navigate by the sun and the smell of sea currents. Modern science suggests that turtles use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate.

The green turtle is an exclusively herbivore. She prefers to all other algae the tender parts of the sea plant eelgrass (Zostera marina), which is also called turtle grass. In 2007, it was proven that green turtles spend the first five years after their birth in so-called Sargassum “beds” - large free-floating algal formations. In the absence of "beds", turtles most likely spend the first years of life near pelagic upwelling waters (pelagic, upwelling). A characteristic feature of the behavior of sea turtles during this period is a predatory lifestyle; they feed on zooplankton and small nekton, and as they grow older, almost all turtles become herbivores.

The average lifespan of sea turtles is approximately 80 years. Sexual maturity in females occurs at the age of about 30 years. When the time comes to breed, female green turtles leave the open sea and always swim to the same place to lay their eggs. For this they choose the sandy shores of uninhabited islands or places on the seashore, remote from human traffic. Males follow their females on this journey, but do not come ashore during laying, but remain nearby in the sea. Approaching the shore, the turtle waits until evening and comes out onto land and begins laying eggs at a distance of 25-30 meters from the high tide line. Prince Max von Wied-Neuwied (1782-1867, famous traveler and naturalist from the princely family of Widow, honorary member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences) observed the egg-laying process and left the following message about it:

“Our presence did not stop her from doing her job. It was possible to touch it, even lift it (which required four people); with loud signs of our amazement and considerations of what to do with her, she did not reveal any other signs of anxiety, such as the hissing that geese emit when approaching their nest. She slowly continued with her flipper-shaped hind legs the work she had once begun, digging out a cylindrical hole about 25 cm wide in the sandy soil right under the anus, extremely deftly and correctly, and even to a certain extent, in tact, she threw out the dug earth on both sides of her body and immediately after that she began lay eggs. One of our two soldiers stretched out to his full length on the ground next to the turtle that was delivering supplies for our kitchen, reached into the depths of the hole and began to throw out eggs as the turtle laid them. Thus, within about 10 minutes we collected up to 100 eggs. We began to consider whether it would not be advisable to add this beautiful animal to our collections, but the great weight of the tortoise, for which it would be necessary to appoint a special mule, and also the difficulty of strengthening this clumsy burden, forced us to grant her life and limit ourselves to the tribute she paid eggs for us. Returning to the shore a few hours later, we did not find her again. She closed her hole, and a wide trail across the sand showed that she had crawled back into her element.”

Mating of turtles occurs in water, in the coastal zone; the amount of sperm received by the female is enough for several clutches. During the entire nesting year, which occurs once every two or four years, the female lays from four to seven clutches of 150-200 eggs. Depending on the temperature, egg development lasts approximately 6-10 weeks. After the incubation period, small turtles break through the shell with a special egg tooth and climb out into the air through the thickness of the sand. The future sex of turtles also depends on temperature: males develop at lower temperatures, females at higher temperatures.

The mortality rate among hatched turtles is extremely high, since most of them will be eaten by land predators, and the rest will be awaited by sea predators. The percentage of turtles that have reached sexual maturity for each clutch does not exceed hundredths, which is a serious obstacle to the restoration of the population of these animals.

Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)

The size of the hawksbill is noticeably inferior to the green turtle, but it is very close to it in structure and appearance; visually it can be distinguished by its hook-shaped upper jaw and two successive pairs of scutes, which are always located between the nostrils and the frontal scute. The forelimbs always have two claws. The dorsal plates of the shell are chestnut or black-brown in color and covered with yellow spots. Each plate contains diverging light, pink-red, red-brown and yellow stripes, which can sometimes expand so much that the initially dark color of the scutes takes up less space than the light one. The plates of the chest shell are single-colored, yellow, the scutes of the head and limbs are dark brown with yellow edges. The length of the shell reaches 84 cm, but the hawksbill with a shell length of 60 cm is already considered very large.

The habitat of the hawksbill turtle almost completely coincides with the habitat of the green turtle. Hawksbill also lives in the tropical and adjacent seas of both hemispheres and is especially common in the Caribbean Sea and around Ceylon, off the Maldives and Sulu Sea, in many places along the Atlantic coast of America, at the Cape of Good Hope, in the Mozambique Channel, in the Red Sea, on the eastern coast of the Hindustan Peninsula and off the Malayan coast, near the Sunda Islands, in the Chinese and Japanese seas, off the coast of Australia.

In its behavior and lifestyle, the hawksbill is similar to the green sea turtle, but unlike it, it is a predatory animal that feeds on mollusks and invertebrates.

Watching a hawksbill in the water column, a comparison with a flying bird of prey suggests itself; there is no haste in the smooth movements of the flippers, the body glides evenly, and swimming is similar to soaring in water.

Hawksbill meat is eaten, although this is associated with a risk - it can become poisonous if the turtle has fed on poisonous animals. Sea turtle eggs are a delicacy in many countries. Turtles are also exterminated for their shells - they are used to obtain “turtle bones”. Souvenirs are made from young individuals. For these reasons, despite its fairly wide range, the species is endangered. (

sea turtles- the largest representatives of the detachment. There are only seven species, grouped into two families. They live mainly in tropical and subtropical seas and oceans. Only females come ashore and only for a few hours to lay eggs. Unlike freshwater species, the shell of sea turtles is low and flattened. In the water they row with their front flippers, which are much larger than their back ones. Clumsy on land, turtles “fly” at great speed in water. While moving, turtles must come to the surface every few minutes to breathe air. But while resting or sleeping, they can remain underwater for several hours. Sea turtles have well-developed organs of vision and smell, with the help of which they find food, detect enemies and find a sexual partner. Like all turtles, sea turtles have no teeth. They bite and crush food with strong horny beaks. Young turtles feed and then move on to larger food. Adult green sea turtles eat primarily marine foods. But other species prefer jellyfish, squid, shrimp, etc.
Year after year sea turtles return to the same place to lay eggs. After mating at sea, the female crawls onto the beach and slowly crawls along the sand, climbing above the high tide line. There she digs a hole with her fins into which she lays eggs, 2-3 per minute. Each turtle can lay anywhere from 50 to more than 150 eggs. Next, she covers the nest with sand and levels it with her fins. Eventually, the female returns to the sea, leaving the eggs to incubate in the sun-warmed sand. She does this several more times, laying eggs in different places on the beach for about 10 days.
Depending on the temperature of the sand, sea turtle embryos take about eight weeks to hatch. The cubs are released from the shell and must then make every effort to get out of the sand. It takes a team effort for the turtles to reach the surface, which sometimes takes several days. Once on the beach, the turtles rush to the sea. Many become victims of predators: seabirds, crabs, otters, foxes, lizards. Those who do reach the water try to quickly go deeper. But here they are threatened by predatory fish.

The huge leatherback sea turtle is named for its shell, which has a dense leathery structure supported by thin bones. They feed mainly on jellyfish, which they catch and cut with their jaws, like scissors. It is known that in search of food they can descend to a depth of up to 900 m. The head of the loggerhead is quite large in comparison with the rest of the body. Powerful jaw muscles allow this turtle to crush the shells of crabs and lobsters.
Some species of sea turtles spend their lives without leaving a small area. But there are species that undertake long journeys between the areas where they feed and the place where they breed. Most green turtles belong to the second group. Some feed in the coastal Atlantic waters of South America and then swim to tiny Ascension Island, 1,500 km away.
The hawksbill is the most heat-loving sea turtle and is often found in shallow coastal waters around coral reefs and bays. It is one of the few large animals whose food is mainly sponges.
The front fins of turtles are wide and flat. They don't so much row as they flap their wings up and down, like birds' wings.
Living in the open ocean in coastal waters, the Pacific olive turtle is one of the smallest sea turtles. Its length does not exceed 70 cm, and its weight is 41 kg.

For a long time, turtles have suffered from human interference in their lives. People hunt them and dig up their eggs. The shells of turtles, mostly hawksbill turtles, are used for souvenirs such as combs. Today, turtles have lost many of their nesting territories - tourist centers have been built there. Conservation organizations are trying to preserve baby turtles by collecting them from protected nesting areas and releasing them into the sea.
The green turtle was exterminated in huge numbers for its meat, shell, eggs and skin. It has become extremely rare and, along with other sea turtles, is on the official list of protected animals. Trade in products made from them is under strict control.

Turtle families

sea turtles
- 6 types
- Flat bony shells covered with horny plates
- Limbs converted into flippers
- Representatives: green turtle, hawksbill turtle, olive turtle, loggerhead

Leatherback turtles
- 1 type
- Leathery shell