Lelics of ages past, turtles 

 look like scaled-down dinosaurs 

 carrying mobile homes on their 

 backs. Their body structures are 

 unique in the animal kingdom — 

 there's no mistaking a turtle for 

 any other creature. But telling one 

 species of turtle apart from another 

 is a little more challenging. Below 

 are distinguishing features of the 

 five sea turtle species that can 

 appear in North Carolina waters.* 



Green Sea Turtle 

 (Chelonia mydas) 



• light to dark brown carapace with 

 mottled, streaked or sunburst 

 patterns 



• heart-shaped shell 



• small, rounded head 



• two oblong scales between the 

 eyes 



• serrated jaws 



• over-the-curve carapace length: 

 36-48 inches 



• 250-450 pounds 



• status: breeding populations 

 in Florida and on the Pacific 

 coast of Mexico are listed as 

 endangered; all other populations 

 are listed as threatened 



Which Turtle Is It? 



Hawksbill Sea Turtle 

 (Eretmochelys imbricata) 



• elongated yellowish-brown streaked 

 carapace with deeply serrated 

 margins 



• overlapping scales on carapace and 

 plastron (the undershell) 



• hawklike beak 



• over-the-curve carapace length: 

 30-35 inches 



• 95-165 pounds 



• status: endangered worldwide — 

 extremely rare in North Carolina 



Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle 

 (Lepidochelys kempi) 



• dull olive-gray carapace, round in 

 shape with a low profile 



• slender head 



• scales covering the bridge connecting 

 the carapace to the plastron are 

 perforated by a single tiny pore 



• over-the-curve carapace length: 

 23-27 inches 



• 80-100 pounds 



• status: endangered worldwide 



Leatherback Sea Turtle 

 (Dermochelys coriacea) 



• slender gray-black or blue-black 

 scaleless carapace with seven 

 distinct longitudinal ridges 



• upper jaw has two toothlike 

 projections 



• no claws 



• over-the-curve carapace length: 

 54-70 inches 



• 650-2,000 pounds 



• status: endangered worldwide 



Loggerhead Sea Turtle 

 (Caretta caretta) 



• heart-shaped, reddish-brown 

 carapace 



• large head relative to the body 



• over-the-curve carapace length: 

 31-45 inches 



• 170-350 pounds 



• status: threatened worldwide — 

 most abundant species in North 

 Carolina 



• Size ranges for all species listed 

 represent maximum adult sizes. 

 Juveniles will be smaller. □ 



Daun Daemon 



Loggerhead 

 Sea Turtle 



Green 

 Sea Turtle 



Hawksbttl 

 Sea Turtle 



Kemp's 

 Ridley 

 Sea Turtle 



COASTWATCH 21 



