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LoggerHead Turtles |
(Caretta Caretta)
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Caretta Caretta, was designated as the official reptile of the State by the General Assembly on June 1, 1988, by Act No. 588.
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Loggerhead Sea Turtles are recognized as a threatened species and the destruction of their nesting habitat further threatens them with extinction. They perform extended migration between their feeding grounds and rookeries, and South Carolina is considered to have some of the most pristine nesting areas used by Loggerhead Sea Turtles on the eastern coast. |
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One of only seven species of marine or sea turtles in existence today.
* The loggerhead's name refers to the size of its head, which is larger than the head of other marine turtles. * Adult female loggerheads can weigh as much as 300 pounds. * The head and upper shell (carapace) are a dark reddish-brown; the flippers and lower shell (plastron) are light yellow. * The loggerhead feeds mainly on whelks, crabs, fishes and organisms living on the bottom of the sea, such as sponges and algae.
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* Adult
females come ashore at night to nest during the period from mid-May to
mid-August.
* They may lay several clutches of eggs each season at approximately two-week intervals. * Females return to nest in two-year or three-year cycles. * The female crawls ashore after dark to lay her eggs in the best site, usually a well-drained dune with clean sand and scattered vegetation. * By digging alternately with her hind flippers, she excavates a flask-shaped nest cavity about 18 inches deep. * An average clutch contains 120 white, spherical eggs which have a thin leathery shell. After depositing the eggs in the nest cavity. * The female then disguises the location by scattering sand over the spot with her front flippers. |
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If the eggs escape predators and spring tides, they incubate about
60 days before hatching.
* When the eggs hatch, the hatchlings remain in the nest for several days to absorb their yolk sacs and to allow their shells to straighten. * The hatchlings all begin to dig their way to the surface in a group effort. * This causes sand to sift down between the hatchlings effectively "raising" the floor of the nest until they have "dug" their way to the surface. * Most hatchlings emerge in the early evening after dark, but some may emerge on cool days or after a rain shower. * Hatchlings leave the nest in a group within three minutes of their emergence to begin crawling to the ocean.
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