Leatherback sea turtle

The leatherback sea turtle is the largest of all living sea turtles. It is the fourth largest modern reptile behind three crocodilians.^[5][6]

Leatherback sea turtle Temporal range: Holocene 0.012–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Endangered (ESA)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Chelonioidea
Family:	Dermochelyidae
Subfamily:	Dermochelyinae
Genus:	Dermochelys Blainville, 1816[3]
Species:	D. coriacea
Binomial name
Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761)[3]
Synonyms[4]
List of synonyms Testudo coriacea Vandellius, 1761 Testudo coriaceous Pennant, 1769 (ex errore) Testudo arcuata Catesby, 1771 Testudo lyra Lacépède, 1788 Testudo marina Wilhelm, 1794 Testudo tuberculata Pennant, 1801 Chelone coriacea Brongniart, 1805 Chelonia coriacea Oppel, 1811 Testudo lutaria Rafinesque, 1814 Dermochelys coriacea Blainville, 1816 Sphargis mercurialis Merrem, 1820 Coriudo coriacea Fleming, 1822 Scytina coriacea Wagler, 1828 Dermochelis atlantica LeSueur, 1829 (nomen nudum) Sphargis coriacea Gray, 1829 Sphargis tuberculata Gravenhorst, 1829 Dermatochelys coriacea Wagler, 1830 Chelyra coriacca Rafinesque, 1832 (ex errore) Dermatochelys porcata Wagler, 1833 Testudo coriacea marina Ranzano, 1834 Dermochelys atlantica Duméril & Bibron, 1835 Dermatochelys atlantica Fitzinger, 1835 Dermochelydis tuberculata Alessandrini, 1838 Sphargis coriacea var. schlegelii Garman, 1884 Dermatochaelis coriacea Oliveira, 1896 Sphargis angusta Philippi, 1899 Dermochelys schlegelii Stejneger, 1907 Dermatochelys angusta Quijada, 1916 Dermochelys coriacea coriacea Gruvel, 1926 Dendrochelys (Sphargis) coriacea Pierantoni, 1934 Dermochelys coriacea schlegeli Mertens, Müller & Rust, 1934 (ex errore) Chelyra coriacea Bourret, 1941 Seytina coriacea Bourret, 1941 Sphargis schlegelii Bourret, 1941 Dermochelys coriacea schlegelii Carr, 1952 Dermochelys coriacea schlegelli Caldwell, 1962 (ex errore) Dermochelys schlegeli Barker, 1964 Dermochelys coricea Das, 1985 (ex errore)

Baby leatherback turtle at Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex in Boca Raton, Florida

Adults average 1–1.75 metres (3.3–5.7 ft) in shell length, 1.83–2.2 metres (6.0–7.2 ft) in total length and weigh 250 to 700 kilograms (550 to 1,540 lb).^[7][8] The largest ever found was over 3 metres (9.8 ft) from head to tail and weighed 916 kilograms (2,019 lb).^[9] It was found on a beach on the west coast of Wales.^[10]

The eggs and young are often eaten by predators, but the adults can defend themselves aggressively. Only the largest sea predators can tackle a leatherback successfully.^[11]

Leatherback turtles are one of the deepest diving marine animals. They have been recorded diving to depths as great as 1,280 metres (4,200 ft).^[12]

They are also the fastest-moving reptiles. The 1992 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records lists the leatherback turtle moving at 35.28 kilometres per hour (21.92 mph) in the water.^[13][14] Usually, they swim at 0.5–2.8 metres per second (1.1–6.3 mph).^[15]

They can live as far north as Alaska and Norway and as far south as the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and the southernmost tip of New Zealand.^[7] The leatherback is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and it also goes well into the Arctic Circle.^[16]

Very little is known about how long they live. Some reports say "30 years or more",^[17] while others say "50 years or more".^[18]