External Structures
What do sea turtles use for protection?
Their shell!
Sea turtles use _______ to breathe.
a. lungs
b. heart
c. veins
d. spine
a. lungs
True or false:
Sea turtles have really great hearing and use their ears to help them navigate the ocean.
False! Sea turtles do not have eardrums and cannot hear very well.
What is a baby sea turtle called?
A hatchling!
How many different species of sea turtle are there?
7
Sea turtles cannot retract (or pull their head back) into their shells.
True! Sea turtles shells are a part of their body.
How often to turtles come up to the surface for air?
Every 4-7 hours
Which of the five senses do sea turtles use to help navigate the ocean the most?
Smell! They also use memory and the Earth's magnetic fields to help them find their way around.
What temperature sand results in more female sea turtles?
Warmer sand!
True or false:
Sea turtles lay up to 1000 eggs at a time.
What do turtles use to help them steer their bodies through the ocean?
Their BACK flippers! The front flippers help propel them forward!
What part of the body helps the sea turtles hold their breath underwater? (Hint: What helps support the lungs that hold the air?)
The heart! Sea turtles use their heart and lungs to help hold their breath for a long time.
Sea turtles have great vision both in water and air.
False:
Sea turtles have much better vision underwater than they do in the air. In the air, sea turtles are actually shortsighted!
True or False:
Female sea turtles always return to the beach they were born to lay their own eggs.
True!
What is the largest species of sea turtle?
a. Taylor the Turtle
b. Olive Ridley
c. Hawksbill
d. Leatherback
d. Leatherback
True or false: Sea turtles have gills on their bodies that help them breathe underwater.
False! They have lungs inside their body and breathe air!
True or false:
Sea turtles have really big lungs and that is why they are able to hold their breath for so long.
False:
Some turtles do have bigger lungs than humans, but they use their muscles in their bodies to help change the pressure of the air in their lungs and that helps them hold their breath longer.
When baby sea turtles hatch, they use what to help them find their way to the ocean?
The moon!
Why are rising sea levels a problem for sea turtles?
Reptiles
What is the topside of a turtle shell called?
Why can sea turtles hold their breath so long?
They use the muscles in their shoulders to change the pressure of the air in their lungs. They also slow down their heart beat, which means they body uses less oxygen.
How do sea turtles smell?
They pull in water through their noses and push it out through their mouths.
What is one way juvenile sea turtles protect themselves when they make it to the ocean?
They find a place to hide! They will live under patches of seaweed/kelp under they are ready to survive on their own.
How long have sea turtles been around?
Over 100 million years!
(That's longer than the dinosaurs!)