Loggerhead Sea Turtle Habitat

The loggerhead sea turtle is an oceanic turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is called loggerhead, because of its large head. It is the largest hard-shelled turtle in the world. There are mainly two subspecies of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta and Caretta caretta gigas. This oceanic turtle is distributed across the world. Basically, loggerhead sea turtle habitat encompasses three ecosystems.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Facts

Physical Appearance
The adult loggerhead sea turtle can grow up to an enormous size and measure up to 213 cm in length. The adult, fully grown loggerhead can weigh about 135 kg. The most distinguishing feature of this turtle is its reddish-brown colored shell. The shell of the turtle is mainly divided into two sections, plastron and carapace. The skin color can range from yellow to brown, while the underside is usually pale yellow in color.

Differences in physical appearance between the male and the female loggerhead turtle cannot be discerned, until they mature and become adults. The adult male usually has a thicker tail and shorter plastrons than its female counterpart. The carapace of the male is also wider, but less domed, as compared to the female. Another difference is the width of the head, as the male usually possesses a wider head than the female loggerhead. This turtle attains sexual maturity within 17 to 33 years, while its average life span is about 47 to 67 years. Loggerhead turtle cannot withdraw its head into the shell unlike many turtles.

Habitat and Range
As has been mentioned already, loggerhead turtles are distributed across the world. It can be found in Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Major part of the life of adult loggerhead is spent in saltwater, except for the females, who have to come ashore for a brief period to lay eggs. Their most common habitats are shallow coastal water, salt marshes, lagoons, reefs and estuaries. Many of these turtles can also be found in open seas and bays. However, at different stages of their life cycle, loggerhead turtles can be found in three different ecosystems. These three ecosystems are known as terrestrial zone, oceanic zone and neritic zone.

Life of a loggerhead sea turtle begins in the terrestrial zone, as the female loggerhead turtle comes ashore for a short period to construct the nest and lay the eggs. The female usually deposits the eggs in the ocean beaches and coastline. Narrow, steeply sloped and coarse-grained beaches are usually preferred by the female for nesting. Soon after birth, the hatchlings move towards the sea and they are usually swept by the water, though a few hatchlings get caught up in the seaweed near the shore. Such hatchlings may need to spend several days near the shore. But, others can quickly reach the open waters of the sea. The hatchlings continue to swim for several days.

The post hatchling or juvenile loggerheads then settle down along the continental shelf or near shore coastal waters and shallow estuaries. These are the areas, where one can find large masses of seaweed like Sargassum algae. This is the habitat for the juveniles between the age of 7 to 12 years or till they mature. This habitat is shared by the juvenile loggerhead with many other organisms like ants, aphids, beetles, flies, larvae of small crabs, barnacles, hydrozoan colonies and fish like, tuna, dolphin and amberjacks. In the Pacific ocean, loggerhead sea turtles can be found from Alaska to Chile. California coastline is another area, where loggerhead turtles can be widely spotted. In Atlantic ocean, these turtles can be found throughout the Gulf of Mexico and from Canadian island to Argentina.

Some other interesting facts about this turtle are that it is omnivorous and consumes the bottom dwelling invertebrates like decapods, gastropods and bivalves. In fact, the list of prey for loggerhead turtle is quite long and can include, corals, polychaete worms, cephalopods, barnacles, sea urchins, starfish and algae. It also eats jellyfish, squid, floating mollusks and even flying fish during the long migration period. Likewise, predators of loggerhead turtles and the nestling are also numerous. Presently, loggerhead is considered as an endangered species. International Union for Conservation of Nature has taken several conservative measures to protect this animal. Use of untended fishing gears and lack of suitable beaches for nesting are the greatest threats to this animal. Since nesting beaches are spread all over the world, the success of the various conservation efforts depends on international cooperation.