Turtle Fun Facts

a large loggerhead seat turtle in the blue ocean
1.Although they are coldblooded, leatherback sea turtles are able to live in very cold arctic waters because of their unique ability to regulate their inner body temperature through a process called Gigantothermy. They are the only turtle species able to do this.
a large hawksbill turtle that looks as if it is glowing a florescent green
2. The first biofluorescent was seen in a hawksbill turtle. Biofluorescence is different from bioluminescence because bioluminescence involves emitting light, while biofluorescence involves changing the wavelengths hitting the animal or plant to create a glowing effect.
a sea turtle under water swimming on top of some underwater platn life
3. Sea turtles can not cry like humans do; human tears are saltwater, and sea turtles live in saltwater. Instead, sea turtles excrete salt from their eyes instead of crying, similar to the crying we are used to observing.
a black and yellow turtle sitting on a tan rock over a greenish yellow body of water
4. Sea turtles have the unique ability to eat some toxic sponges in the ocean, while most oceanic animals can not eat these, some sea turtles have an enzyme in their digestive system that allows them to safely consume these sponges.
a common snappinf turtle walking over a grass field
5. Female sea turtles come back to the same beach every year to lay their eggs. This behavior is called “homing”. Some turtles travel up to 10,000 miles or 16093.44 kilometers to return to the beach at which they were born.
a sea turtle sminng in a empty ocean with a sandy floor with a blend of blue white and red patter on it's shell
6. Sea turtles can hold their breath for up to 5 hours underwater ! They can also sleep in the ocean without coming up to breath because of this
a mostly black turtle laying on a beach with orangish yellow sand
7. Turtles can preform cloaca respiration, allowing them to breath through their back sides. They, however, breathe much more efficiently through their lungs and use this technique much more frequently
a yellow and brown adult sea turtle swimmin in a greenish blue ocean
8.Some sea turtles can dive as low as 760 feet or 231 meters into the ocean.
a large sea turtle disturbing the sand on the ocean floor beside some moss like oceanic plant
9.Adult turtles do not have teeth. Some baby turtles have temporary front teeth to eat before their beak becomes sharp, but they lose these teeth before they become an adult.
a model of the skeletal system of a turtle, showing shell's attached ribcage
10. The Turtle's shell is connected to the ribcage, if you look at a turtle shell you can see the ribs along the inside. Because of this, a turtle cannot remove its shell safely.