Last week we had an introduction to sea turtles in general. Now let’s see what differences there are among them. Actually there are several varieties, but we will select only a few of the better-known ones.
The leatherbacks are the largest of all turtles. Mature ones weigh as much as fifteen hundred pounds and are nearly six feet long. Because of their size, they are safe from attack except from men with special equipment or a shark or killer whale. They can dive four thousand feet below the surface in search of food, a greater depth than any other air-breathing creature.
They do not have a hard shell like most turtles have, but are covered with a tough, leathery skin called a carapace. This carapace is composed of small bones embedded in the thick skin on their backs. But on their underside they have a more tender skin, no tougher than a human’s, which the Creator has provided to help them swim swiftly through water.
Leatherbacks are black, speckled with white and have two huge, long front flippers, two shorter back flippers, and a bony, short, V-shaped tail, all of which equips them to travel thousands of miles through ocean waters. Some tagged ones have been known to travel more than three thousand miles from their birthplace.
The leatherback is the only sea turtle that is capable of surviving in cold, northern Atlantic Ocean waters, and many live there through summer months, enjoying the plentiful food supply in those waters. However, most of them live in warmer waters off the coasts of Mexico and southern California, as well as in the Caribbean Sea and warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean.
The hawksbill makes its home in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast. This is one of the smaller varieties, only about thirty inches long. It has a beautiful shell from which jewelers used to make items called “tortoise shell,” but that is no longer done.
An outstanding characteristic of the hawksbill is that its principal food is poisonous sponges that grow on coral reefs and are covered with a glass-like coating. Although this coating breaks up into sharp, needlelike crystals and contains a poison deadly to humans and other creatures, the hawksbill thrives on it.
Next week we will look at several more sea turtles which are just as interesting and bring to mind the Bible verse, “Remember His [God’s] marvelous works that He hath done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth” (1 Chronicles 16:1212Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; (1 Chronicles 16:12)).
(to be continued)
ML-02/15/2004
FEBRUARY 15, 2004