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Loggerhead Turtle
A great traveller under threat from fishing fleets
Common Name: Loggerhead turtle; Tortue caouanne (Fr); Cayume, tortuga boba (Sp)
Scientific Name: Caretta caretta
Population: 60,000+ nesting females
Background
© WWF- Canon / Michel GUNTHER
Loggerheads are highly migratory and particularly vulnerable to accidental capture in the nets and long-lines of the world's fisheries. Although Turtle Excluder Devices (TED), fitted into shrimp nets in some countries have lessened the threat, the use of these devices is not yet mandatory everywhere.
Loggerheads are the most common turtle in the Mediterranean, nesting on beaches from Greece and Turkey to Israel and Libya. However, many of their nesting beaches are under threat from tourist development.
WWF is working to establish a fully representative network of protected areas in the Mediterranean and is collaborating with governments and local conservation organizations to protect loggerhead nesting beaches in Turkey and Greece. Work is also underway in South Africa, Madagascar and Australia among other locations.
Physical Description
The loggerhead turtle has a rusty colored carapace. It is one of the largest cheloniid turtles, and carries more encrusting organisms such as barnacles on its carapace than the other marine turtles species. This species is distinguished mainly by its large head and strong jaws.
As with leatherbacks, loggerheads are highly migratory, making some of the longest journeys known of all marine turtle species. The possibility that juvenile loggerheads cross the Pacific Ocean has been corroborated by studies showing Baja Californian loggerheads have a genetic affinity with those found in Japan, and recently the first trans-Pacific migration of a loggerhead was recorded with a satellite transmitter. It is thought that an ability to detect wave direction and the Earth's magnetic field enables this species to navigate across open oceans.
Size
On average, the loggerhead has a 92 cm long carapace. Adults weigh about 115kg.
Color
Rusty colored carapace.
Why is this species important?
Marine turtles fulfill important roles in marine ecosystems
Loggerhead turtles eat many types of invertebrates, in particular mollusks and crustaceans, and can change the seabed by "mining" the sediments for their favorite prey. Also, loggerhead turtles carry veritable animal and plant cities on their shell. As many as 100 species of animals and plants have been recorded living on one single loggerhead turtle. These animals and plants depend on turtles to have somewhere to live and to prosper. The future for many of these species is intimately linked to marine turtle survival.
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