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(Click on photo for larger image.)
(FWC photo by Blair Witherington)
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Loggerhead sea turtle facts:
- The turtle is named for its large head, which may be 10-12 inches wide.
- Powerful jaw muscles enable the loggerhead to crush heavy-shelled clams, marine
snails, horseshoe crabs and crustaceans.
- Loggerhead turtles reach maturity after 20-40 years and could have a lifespan of
70 years or more.
- Adult turtles weigh 200-350 pounds and measure 4 feet in length.
- Hatchlings are 2 inches long.
- Threats on nesting beaches include habitat alterations from coastal armoring and
beach lighting.
- During the nesting season, females remain in shallow areas near their nesting
beaches.
- Most loggerheads that nest in Florida are found:
- from Volusia to Broward counties
- from Monroe to Pinellas counties
- Franklin County west
- The loggerhead moves on land by using diagonally opposite flippers at the same
time. The center of the track looks like a wavy line in the sand.
- After nesting, loggerheads disperse to feeding grounds throughout the Bahamas,
Cuba, the Dominican Republic, north along the eastern U.S. coast and south
through the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico.
Nesting information:
- Once a nest site has been chosen, a body pit is excavated by digging with four
limbs and rotating the body. This removes the dry surface sand that could
collapse, and places the egg cavity at a greater depth. When the body pit
is complete, an egg cavity is dug using the cupped rear flippers as shovels.
- Two-thirds of the time involved in nesting takes place after the eggs have been
laid as the female covers and disguises the nest.
- Turtles are not easily disturbed once egg-laying has begun. The vulnerable
time for disturbance occurs during emergence from the water, ascending the beach
or when digging a nest cavity. Sea turtles may abandon their nesting if
they are bothered by lights or unusual activity nearby (motion on the beach,
sounds, etc.).
- False crawl – A sea turtle that ascends the beach and abandons its nesting
attempt and returns to the water.
- Loggerhead turtles will nest at 12-15 day intervals throughout nesting season.
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