LEATHERY TURTLE

The Leathery turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, is the largest of all living Chelonians, attaining a total length of more than six feet. The Leathery turtle differs from all other turtles and tortoises in its vertebrate and ribs being entirely free and not fused with the carapace. Unlike the other species, the body is protected by a shield, composed of small, irregular, mosaic-like bony plates covered by a very thick, tough, leathery integument. The limbs are modified into large, paddle-shaped flippers, devoid of claws, thus enabling the turtle to swim powerfully and often venture far out into the sea. The Leathery turtle is world-wide in its distribution, but it appears to be common only in the tropics and around the coasts of Sri Lanka. Its diet is varied and consists of crustaceans, molluscs, small fishes and algae. Like all other marine turtles, it comes to the sandy shore to lay its eggs, which are deposited in a hole and covered up with sand, to be incubated by the heat of the sun. The young, make their way straight to the sea as soon as they are hatched and begin to swim actively.