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It can grow up to one and a half metres in length and has four strong, paddle-like flippers for movement in the water. The shell on top, called the carapace, is dark reddish brown in colour with darker brown markings. The underside, called the plastron, is creamy-yellow. Shaped similar to a human heart, the carapace is longer than it is wide and has five distinct scales. A fully grown adult usually weighs 100-150kg even though weights of up to 400kg have been recorded. Marine turtles grow slowly and take between 30-50 years to reach sexual maturity. After reaching maturity a turtle will breed for many decades.
Each breeding season nesting females return to the same area. There is evidence to show that females return to the same beach they themselves hatched from. Courtship and mating takes place in shallow waters near the nesting beaches. Females often mate with more than one male. The female lays up to six clutches of eggs at two weekly intervals. She will lay approximately 100 small, ‘ping-pong’ ball sized eggs. Incubation time and sex of the hatchlings depends on the temperature of the sand that the eggs are in. Warm, dark sand produces mostly female turtles and eggs laid in cool, white sand are mostly males. Usually females hatch in seven to eight weeks with the males taking longer.
Loggerhead Turtles nest from late October, reaching a peak in late December and finish nesting in late February or early March. Nesting has been recorded in the vicinity of Shark Bay and Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia, on the Bundaberg coast and on the Capricorn Group of islands and the Swain Reefs on the southern Barrier Reef in Queensland.
The Loggerhead Turtle occurs in coral reefs and estuaries in tropical and warm temperate waters off the coast of Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia and New South Wales. Occasionally, individuals will enter southern Australian waters. Marine turtles migrate long distances between their nesting sites and feeding grounds. Nesting sites for the Loggerhead Turtle are on coastal areas across mid Queensland and Murion Island in Western Australia.
The Loggerhead Turtle is carnivorous. It will feed mostly on shellfish, crabs, sea urchins, jellyfish and various other fish. It commonly noses around coral reefs, rocky places and old boat wrecks for food. The characteristic beak-like mouth us used to shear or crush food.
All marine turtles have serious threats to their survival. Habitat destruction and pollution is changing their unique habitat especially coral reefs, seagrass beds and nesting beaches. Other threats include drowning in fishing nets and predation of eggs and hatchlings by humans, foxes, feral pigs, dogs and goannas.
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Animal Fact Sheets - Want to learn more about some of Australasia's unique fauna? Take a look at these fact sheets. Great for school projects! |
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Regional Education Policy - This policy produced by the education group is a formulation of principles, guidelines and minimum standards for education for the many different sectors involved in zoos, parks and aquaria. |
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Education Specialist Advisory Group - An overview of the Zoo and Aquarium Association and education. Learn about the activities of the Association's Education Specialist Advisory Group. | |