17th February 2025 (16 Topics)
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Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta)
Context
Loggerhead turtles use Earth's magnetic field for navigation, creating a "magnetic map" to remember locations associated with food. A study in Nature found that turtles can learn and distinguish magnetic signatures of different areas, demonstrated by their "turtle dance" when in a familiar magnetic field linked to feeding.
About
- Loggerhead turtles are large sea turtles known for their strong, broad heads.
- They grow slowly and don’t reach maturity until about 35 years old.
- These turtles live in warm ocean waters around the world, and they are the most common sea turtle along the U.S. coasts.
- Female loggerheads come ashore only to nest. After mating in the ocean, they dig a nest on the beach and lay around 100-120 eggs. The baby turtles (hatchlings) emerge after a few weeks and head straight into the ocean.
- Juvenile loggerheads spend 7-12 years in the open ocean, usually hanging around floating seaweed and eating small marine animals.
- They can travel across oceans and may return to their birthplace to nest when they are older.
- Range: Temperate subtropical and tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
- The biggest nesting sites for loggerhead turtles are along the southeastern U.S. and the coast of Oman.
- IUCN Status: Vulnerable
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