Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

The loggerhead is a big, reddish-brown sea turtle that digs more than 100,000 nests on U.S. beaches each year, most of them in Florida. It's named for its oversized head and powerful jaws, which crush clams, conchs, and crabs. Loggerheads that nest in the U.S. are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Appearance

Appearance: Adults have a slightly heart-shaped, reddish-brown upper shell about 2.5–3.5 ft (75–105 cm) long and a pale yellow underside. They usually weigh 200–350 lb (90–160 kg). Hatchlings are dark brown with pale edges on the flippers.

Look-alikes

Green TurtleChelonia mydas

Loggerheads have 5 pairs of large side plates () on the shell and 2 pairs of scales between the eyes. Green turtles have 4 pairs of side plates, 1 pair of scales between the eyes, and a much smaller head with a short snout.

Why they get mixed upBoth are large hard-shelled turtles that nest on the same Florida beaches.

HawksbillEretmochelys imbricata

The hawksbill has a narrow, pointed, hooked beak like a bird of prey. The loggerhead's head is broad and blunt.

Why they get mixed upBoth have brownish shells and occur in Florida waters.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Coastal waters
Open ocean
Sandy beaches (nesting)
Range: Found in temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean—the widest range of any sea turtle. In the U.S., loggerheads nest mainly in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina on the Atlantic coast, and in Florida and Alabama on the Gulf coast; nesting reaches as far north as Virginia.
Preferred conditions: Males never leave the sea. Females come ashore at night to dig nests on dark, sandy beaches.
Migration: Young turtles live in the open ocean for their first 7–15 years, then move to coastal waters. Some cross entire oceans—loggerheads hatched in Japan travel to feeding grounds off the Americas.
Seasons: In the US
Breeding May–Aug

Behavior

Diet: Mostly animals: whelks, conchs, other shellfish, crabs, and horseshoe crabs near the coast. Young turtles in the open ocean eat floating prey such as jellyfish.

Life cycle

Breeding season: In the U.S., mating runs from late March to early June and egg-laying from late April to early September.
Clutch size: About 100 eggs per nest; 3–5 nests per season, about two weeks apart
Incubation: About 2 months. Warmer sand produces more females; cooler sand produces more males.
Time to maturity: Females mature at roughly 30–35 years old
Lifespan: Estimated at 70 years or more

Conservation

IUCN Red List: VUVulnerableHigh risk of extinction in the wild
Status: Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the world's loggerheads are split into nine populations. The Northwest Atlantic population that nests in the U.S. is threatened; the North Pacific population is endangered.
Threats: Accidental capture in fishing gear is the biggest ongoing threat. Others include beachfront lighting that confuses hatchlings, loss of nesting beaches, plastic debris mistaken for jellyfish, vessel strikes, and predators that dig up nests.