LEATHERBACK TURTLE 



Common Name: LEATHERBACK TURTLE 

 Scientific Name: Dermochelys coriaceu 



Listing Date: 06/02/70 



Species Status: Endangered 



Species Trend: See Species Population Status 



Current Estimated Population: 20,000-30,000 female leatherbacks worldwide 



Critical Habitat: Designated 



SPECIES POPULATION STATUS 



The leatherback turtle was listed as endangered throughout its range on June 2. 1970. Nesting 

 populations of leatherback turtles are especially difficult to discern because the females 

 frequently change beaches. Current population estimates ranges from 20.000 to 30.000 female 

 leatherbacks worldwide. Current trends in leatherback populations in the U.S. are unknown; 

 however, some nesting populations including populations on St. John and St. Thomas in the U.S. 

 Virgin Islands have been virtually extirpated. 



Elsewhere, populations continue to decline. Declining populations of leatherbacks have been 

 documented in Malaysia. India, Sri Lanka. Thailand. Trinidad and Tobago. Nesting activity has 

 also declined in French Guiana due to erosion of nesting beaches. The population in that area 

 has shifted to Surinam, where annual numbers of nests have risen from less than 100 in 1967 to 

 5.565 in 1977 and 9.816 in 1987. Habitat destruction, incidental catch in commercial fisheries, 

 and the harvest of eggs and flesh are the greatest threats to the survival of the leatherback turtle. 



SPECIES BIOLOGY 



The leatherback is the largest living turtle, and is so distinctive as to be placed in a separate 

 taxonomic family. Dermochelyidae. The carapace is distinguished by a rubber-like texture, 

 about 4 cm thick, and made primarily of tough, oil-saturated connective tissue raised into seven 

 prominent ridges an tapered to a blunt point posteriorly. The carapace is strengthened by a nearly 

 continuous layer of small dermal bones that lie just below the leathery outer skin. No sharp 

 angle is formed between the carapace and the plastron, resulting in the animal being somewhat 

 barrel-shaped. 



The average curved carapace length for nesting female leatherbacks is 155 cm and weights of 

 262-506 kg have been recorded. The epidermis is black, with varying degrees of pale spotting. 



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