Guest guest Posted July 1, 2003 Report Share Posted July 1, 2003 ***************************Advertisement*************************** eCentral - Your Entertainment Guide http://www.star-ecentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my) URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2003/7/1/features/hrfact & sec=fea\ tures ________________________ Tuesday, July 01, 2003 Facts about leatherback turtles THE leatherback is the most unusual and distinctive of all sea turtles. It is so unique that it is placed in its own family, Dermochelydae. It is the only turtle without a hard, bony shell. It has a smooth, leathery shell which is marked by seven longitudinal ridges. The shell consists of an outer skin with a continuous layer of tiny mosaic bones embedded in a thick layer of oily cartilaginous material. The Dermochelys coriacea is also the largest of all sea turtles, being capable of reaching 2m in length and weighing over half a ton. A dead male specimen washed ashore in Wales in 1988 weighed 916kg and measured 2.9m from nose to tail. Nesting females have an average shell length of one and a half metres and weigh 300kg. Although they spend most of their lives in the open sea and are fertilised there, females come ashore to dig nests and deposit their eggs. The leatherback is a very strong swimmer. Its pelagic nature shapes its feeding habits, with jellyfish forming its main diet. Distribution: The leatherback has a worldwide distribution, stretching from the tropics to the sub-polar regions. It nests on tropical beaches. Little is known about the distribution of hatchlings and juveniles. Status: International statistics reveal that the number of nesting females has fallen by more than 95% over the last 22 years, making the leatherback the most endangered sea turtle. It is believed that there are only about 900 nesting females left in Indonesia, 55 in Costa Rica, 45 in Mexico, and two in Malaysia. Ranked as endangered on the World Conservation Union red list, the leatherback is also listed under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which prohibits any form of trade in the species. Threats: Leatherbacks have turned up as by-catch in long-line fishing and gill nets used by fishermen to catch swordfish and tuna in the Pacific rim. Loss of nesting habitats and egg-poaching are equally detrimental to the species. & #8211; Compiled by Hilary Chiew<p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2003 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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