Fun Facts About Sea Turtles
Get to know one of the ocean’s most adored creatures with these fun facts about sea turtles.
Basic Facts About Sea Turtles
Sea turtles are marine reptiles, which means they live in the sea but breathe air. With one exception, they spend their whole lives in the sea.
They only emerge from the ocean to dig a nest and lay their eggs.
There are seven species of sea turtles, and most swim in the warm tropical and subtropical waters.
Sea turtles live a long time, as many as fifty years or longer. It takes a long time for them to fully mature into adults: twenty to thirty years.
Sea turtles are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals. They consume seagrasses, seaweed, sponges, fish, worms, shellfish–even jellyfish!
Now that you know some basic facts about sea turtles, let’s move on to some fun facts!
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10 Fun Facts About Sea Turtles
Fall in love with these peaceful marine reptiles when you read these ten fun facts about sea turtles.
Sea Turtles Can’t Retract into Their Shells
Freshwater turtles have a creature defense. When threatened, they can draw their head and limbs inside their shell for protection.
Sea turtles can’t do that.
They do use their shells for protection. The shells are made from bone and cartilage and covered with thin plates called “scutes.”
Their hard shells protect them from the bites of their predators: tiger sharks, large fish, and orcas.
Turtles have another defense. Unlike their freshwater counterparts, sea turtles are quite fast.
They can swim up to 15 miles an hour. That’s the equivalent of running a mile in four minutes flat!
Sea Turtles Are Keystone Species
Sea turtles are incredibly important to marine ecosystems.
First, they are one of the only creatures that eat seagrass.
To stay healthy and spread across the ocean floor, seagrass needs to be cut short.
Sea turtles chew the grass down to a healthy length, allowing it to spread. Seagrass is a vital nesting ground for marine creatures.
Sea turtles are also vital members of the food web.
Leatherback Sea Turtles Control the Jellyfish Population
You can thank leatherback turtles for keeping down the population of jellyfish in the ocean.
Leatherback sea turtles eat jellyfish as the mainstay of their diet.
Scientists even nicknamed the leatherback sea turtle “gelatinovores” (instead of omnivores).
And they eat a lot! Leatherback sea turtles are enormous animals weighing up to 1500 pounds.
They need to eat a lot of jellyfish to fulfill their energy needs. They eat between 250 and 650 each day!
Leatherback sea turtles have spines in the back of their throats to prevent the jellyfish from coming back up once they have swallowed it.
Hawksbill Sea Turtles Are Fluorescent
No doubt you are familiar with glow-in-the-dark objects.
When those objects are exposed to light, they absorb some of that energy and then radiate it afterward.
In 2015, two scientists were scuba diving at night to film coral reefs. They knew certain coral types were biofluorescent (meaning naturally fluorescent).
They were shining a blue LED light on the coral when suddenly they saw an object that looked like a small, fluorescent alien spaceship, glowing red and green.
It was a Hawksbill sea turtle gliding through the water.
The scientists were stunned. Up until this point, no one knew reptiles had the capability to biofluoresce.
Sea Turtles Are Hospitable
The bony shell of a sea turtle is the ideal spot for sea creatures to take up residence.
Barnacles, diatoms, and other small sea creatures cling to the turtle’s shell.
Small fish swim underneath the sea turtle, hiding from predators.
The yellow tang (picture a fish like Dory that is all yellow) has a mutually beneficial relationship with the sea turtle.
The yellow tang nibbles excess algae off the sea turtle’s back.
Turtles can function like a floating island, too.
When sea turtles pop to the surface of the water to breathe, it is not uncommon for a migrating seabird to land on it, taking a rest.
Humans Have Fingerprints; Sea Turtles Have Shell and Scale Patterns
Every human has a distinct set of fingerprints.
Sea turtles have their own particularities.
The patterns on their shells are unique; no two sea turtles are alike.
They also have dark scales around their faces. The pattern of these scales is unique as well.
Sea Turtles Are Incredible Migrators
Sea turtles have endurance! They are constantly on the move, traveling from their breeding beaches to their foraging grounds.
As seasonal temperatures change, sea turtles follow the warm currents to find their preferred food source.
Some leatherback sea turtles travel 10,000 miles yearly, swimming across an ocean!
The Sand Temperature Affects the Eggs
Like other reptiles, the temperature of the nest affects the gender of the hatchlings.
The hatchlings will likely be female if the sand is warm (above 87 degrees Fahrenheit).
The hatchlings will likely be male if the sand is cool (below 81 degrees).
When the temperature is between those two ranges, the hatchlings could be either gender.
Temperature causes the release of certain hormones during incubation, determining whether the young turtles develop into males or females.
Sea Turtles Can Hold Their Breath for Hours
You already know that sea turtles are incredible swimmers, but did you know they are excellent divers?
Sea turtles can dive to depths as low as 1000 meters below the ocean’s surface.
They can hold their breath for hours at a time.
To put this into perspective, the average human can hold their breath from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. We can’t compete with sea turtles!
You Can’t See the Ears on a Sea Turtle
A sea turtle appears to have no ears. That is because their ears are located under their scales, skin, and fat.
These internal ears excel at picking up low frequencies, such as the sounds of crashing waves or the motors of boats.
Although their form of hearing is very different from ours, they are well-adapted to hear underwater sounds.
Books About Sea Turtles
If you enjoyed these fun facts about sea turtles, check out these books about sea turtles.
National Geographic Readers: Sea Turtles
If you are looking for early readers that are nonfiction, check out this book of fun facts and photos. It is a level 2 reader.
All Things Turtles for Kids
This book is another fun fact book about turtles. It is geared for ages 6-12.
Sea Turtle Rescue
This middle-grade book features facts about sea turtles and the threats to their survival. Great for kids who have a passion for helping animals.
All About Sea Turtles
Learn more about these captivating sea creatures with these fun facts about sea turtles.
They truly are gems of the ocean!
