Download Loggerhead Sea Turtle

•The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is
widely distributed within its range.
It may be found hundreds of miles
out to sea, as well as inshore areas
such as bays, lagoons, salts
marshes, creeks, ship channels, and
the mouth of large rivers.
•The loggerhead turtle nests further
from the tropics than any other
marine turtle is found in temperate
and subtropical waters of the Golf of
Mexico, the Florida Keys and north
along the eastern seaboard as far as
New England.
•From laying to hatching, the United States nesting
season runs from about May to November. Nesting
takes place nocturnally and at 2-to-3-year intervals.
Three of four clutches may be laid in a season at
intervals of approximately 12 days. Clutch size
averages around 115 eggs with incubation requiring
49 to 68 days, about 55 days being average. The
hatchlings generally emerge at night. Limited
information indicates that turtles reach sexual
maturity in 12 to 30.
•The loggerhead turtle is the most commonly found sea
turtle along Florida’s coastal waters. This reddishbrown turtle is named for its large head which is the
largest of all sea turtles.(10 inches wide) Powerful jaw
muscles allow the loggerhead to crush heavy-shelled
clams, crustaceans, and encrusting animals attached to
rocks and reefs. The shell is very thick, particularly
toward the back, which may serve as protection from
sharks that occasionally prey on this relatively slow
swimmer. It is estimated that loggerhead
•They reproduce yearly, and
come back to the same beach
each year. It takes 6-8 months
for the eggs to hatch.
•Subadult loggerheads primarily
feed upon bottom dwelling
invertebrates. Loggerheads
sometimes scavenge fish or fish
parts, but they are not
considered fish eaters.