Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
2. Although sea turtles were abundant in the world’s oceans as recently as decades ago, human activities have driven sea turtle populations worldwide to dangerously low levels.
3. The hawksbill sea turtle has been one of the most persecuted of the world’s sea turtles; hunted not only for its meat and eggs like other sea turtle species, it is further cursed by its beauty. The mottled, translucent shell plates-called scutes by scientists and bekko by Japanese artisans-have been coveted for centuries as raw material for jewelry, spectacle frames, spurs for fghting roosters, and furniture embellishments.
4. Sea turtles are graceful saltwater reptiles, well adapted to life in their marine world. With streamlined bodies and flipper-like limbs, they are graceful swimmers able to navigate across the oceans. When they are active, sea turtles must swim to the ocean surface to breathe every few minutes. When they are resting, they can remain underwater for much longer periods of time.
5. Their head and neck, arms and legs cannot be retracted into the shell.
6. Their shells consist of an upper part (carapace) and a lower section (plastron).
7. The hawksbill sea turtle gets its name from its distinct beak-like mouth. A hawksbill’s head tapers to a point and their lower jaw is V-shaped, adding to the hawk-like resemblance.
Distinct Beak
8. Hawksbill turtles are beautiful, medium sized sea turtles. Adults are usually 30-36 inches long and weigh 100-200 pounds. Their carapace is covered in thick overlapping scales that are called scutes. The scutes are usually amber colored and richly patterned, with radiating streaks of lighter brown and black. Hatchlings are only 1-2 inches long and mostly brown in color. The overlapping scutes are evident even in hatchlings. 9. Hawksbill turtles primarily live in the tropics and subtropics of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans.
10. They are most often found in coral reef habitats. It is thought that hawksbill turtles live the first years of their lives in the open ocean until they return to more coastal waters when they are older.
11. No one knows exactly how long hawksbill sea turtles live, but like other sea turtles they are likely long lived.
12. A hawksbill’s diet consists mainly of sponges that live on coral reefs. Their sharp, narrow beaks are used to feed on prey found in reef crevices.
13. Female hawksbills lay their eggs on tropical, and sub-tropical sandy beaches. On some beaches they prefer to dig their nest chambers in dense beachside vegetation or beneath giant sea grape trees.
14. Female hawksbills return to their natal beaches every 2-3 years to nest during the months of June through November in the United States. Females will lay an average of 4-5 clutches during the season at about 14-day intervals.
15. Adult females first clear away the dry sand with their front flippers and then dig a hole in the sand with their rear flippers and lay a clutch of eggs. After covering the nest, the turtle returns to the sea and the eggs develop over the next 50-60 days. Hawksbills lay large clutches, with an average of 160 eggs. Hatchlings emerge at night and make their way to the sea, if undisturbed by artificial beachfront lighting.
16. Hatchlings are much more susceptible to predators than adults. Ghost crabs, raccoons, skunks, opossums, mongooses, and dogs feed on the eggs. Various nocturnal mammals and crabs feed on the hatchlings when they first emerge from their nest on the beach, and fish and seabirds are a threat to hatchlings in the water.
17. Only sharks are large enough to prey upon adult sea turtles. Their long flippers are especially vulnerable.
19. Hawksbill turtles are critically endangered because of their beautiful shell. They have been hunted for hundreds of years in huge numbers for the “tortoise shell” that is used in many types of jewelry and trinkets.
20. Hawksbill turtles are also hunted, but to a much lesser degree, for leather, oil, perfume, and for ingredients used in cosmetics. They are rarely hunted for their meat, since their diet of sponges can make their flesh poisonous to eat.
21. These wonderful turtles are one type of sea turtles. They are smaller than regular turtles. Their amazing body structure has a beak-like mouth , two fantastic pair of eyes, and a wonderful patterned shell that’s brown and gold.
22. The females weigh about 40 to 60 kilograms.[88 to 130 lbs.] They also, have a tail which ranges around 75 to 95 cm.
23. This rarely small sea turtle lives in a lot of tropical seas. But they really live in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian seas. They also, can be found in the Persian Gulf and the Red and Mediterranean seas.
24. When the turtles are young . They’re not able to dive in deep water which means they have to live in masses of floating sea plants like sargassum. But they’re mostly found in hard bottom reefs.
25. One reason a Hawksbill Sea Turtle has jaws is because it needs to get food. Some of their foods are Crevices from Coral Reefs, Shrimps, Squids, and they primarily feed on Sea Sponges. Some of the things they eat have glass needles that are called “spicules”.They have a diet of glass! This Sea Turtle is very odd because it eats some things turtles might not eat but this why it’s interesting to write about what it eats.
26. The term of their shell is “toiseshell.”
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