Due to their status as "critically endangered", and their tendency to live in open ocean aside from nesting, Leatherback Sea Turtles are not often encountered, much less photographed, so many people do not know about these enormous animals. Besides members of class Crocodilia, the Leatherback Turtle is the largest member of the phylum Reptilia, and feed entirely on jellyfish! These turtles are unique to other tunicates (turtles) because their carapaces are made of skin and oily flesh instead of a hard bony material. What's the coolest things about these cold-blooded jelly killers? They migrate enormous distances across entire oceans between nesting periods.
All sea turtles are endangered but you can help the Leatherback specifically by not polluting our oceans with plastic bags which look similar to their jellyfish food source.
So.. they are a little slow, but pretty awesome creatures.
Monday, February 1, 2010
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