A turtle lau measures 1.8 to 2.2 meters in length, therefore there are 7 species of turtles that inhabit the oceans of the Earth. Although there is a possible eighth species known as brown turtle. But its taxonomic status is still discussed by scientists.
Between the anatomical characteristics of the sea turtles is its powerful jaw and its thick neck formed by 8 vertebrae that can not be retracted inside the intro
of the shell as do the terrapins, the upper part of the shell of almost all the turtles are formed by rigid bony plates that remain attached to the vertebral column but in the case of the turtle lau there are no
said bone shields but a soft connective tissue lining.
Sea turtles are characterized by living only and exclusively in aquatic environments, only touch land to nest in a solitary way and once the spawning they return to the sea and may never come to meet their young
For tropical and subtropical waters are distributed around the world,
near the coasts and coral reefs or in the vastness of the open sea.
The migrations of these reptiles can be from thousands to hundreds of thousands of kilometers, being the lau species the one that reaches the farthest distancing
close to 10,000 miles each year for reproductive or food purposes.
Sea turtles feed on plants, crabs, shrimp or even poisonous jellyfish are part of the diet of a sea turtle
to mention some examples. Regarding its reproduction, marine turtles maintain a genetic diversity in the population since the eggs are products of several parents.
A very common myth is that of females, who cry to expel eggs, although it is tears are not of pain but are the result of the operation of a gland that excretes excess salt in the body by releasing it from the height of the eyes and giving the false idea that mothers suffer. After 60 days after laying the eggs begin to hatch, if the heat of the cavity was kept at a cool temperature, they are small males but if a lot of heat was concentrated, the sex of these young is females.
Sea turtles begin to have enemies and threats before leaving the egg shell, Some eggs are unearthed by dogs, raccoons, dingoes and other common predators of the particular area of spawning, once they start their way to the sea the enemies increase with marine birds, snakes and lizards, among others. Once they dive into the water they face killer whales sharks and other large fish.
But undoubtedly, mankind is its main threat, incidental fishing and marine pollution with chemicals and plastics, as well as the theft and trade of eggs for aphrodisiac or gastronomic purposes keeps the seven species of turtles on the red list of endangered species for its extinction.
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