Loggerhead
turtle
(Careta careta)
Geographic
distribution
The loggerhead
turtle lives in the Mediterranean with other two turtle species.
Characteristics
The loggerhead
turtles have the carapace provided with a dorsal plaque and
with a ventral one called plastron. The jaws have no teeth.The
limbs are flattened, and very efficient for swimming.
Behavior and reproduction
The marine
turtles eat jellyfishes, urchins, shrimps, crabs, molluscs.
The matings occour in open sea, and the females return to sandy beaches to
lay 80 to 200 eggs in deep holes digged by anterior limbs.
The marine turtles have a very long life, often more than 100 years. They are
good swimmers and spend their whole life in the sea.
Influence
of man
The marine turtles have almost no predators in nature, and now they have no
importance for Mediterranean fishery, but sometimes they get entrapped in fishing
nets, and mass tourism endangers the nesting sites.
The marine turtles have been declared protected species, and many organizations
take care of them.
