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Loggerhead Turtle
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) is a sea turtle and the only member of the genus Caretta. The genus name "Caretta" is a latinization of the French "caret", meaning turtle, tortoise, or sea turtle[1].
Caretta caretta is characterized by a large head with blunt jaws. It is also identifiable by the five scutes along the middle of the carapace. Adults grow to an average weight of about 200 pounds (about 100 kg), and can reach 1m in length.
The species feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and other marine animals, which they crush with their large and powerful jaw. As with other sea turtles,
females return to lay their eggs on or near the same beach where they
hatched. Unlike other sea turtles, courtship and mating usually do not
take place near the nesting beach, but rather along the migration
routes between feeding and breeding grounds.
An alternative to migration for many loggerheads is hibernation
to varying degrees as the water cools. By February they are submerged
for up to seven hours at a time, emerging for only seven minutes to
recover. Although outdone by freshwater turtles, these are the longest recorded dives for any air-breathing marine vertebrate[2].
Most loggerheads that reach adulthood live for longer than 30 years,
and can often live past 50 years. They are immune to the toxins of a Portuguese Man O' War as the turtles have often been seen feeding on them. Information from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loggerhead_Sea_Turtle
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