Sea turtles or turtles (superfamily Chelonoidea) are a group of reptiles that have adapted to live in the ocean. To do this, as we will see, they have a series of characteristics that allow them to swim for very long periods of time and make life in the water easier.
The feeding of sea turtles depends on each species, the areas of the world in which they live and their migrations. You want to know more? In this article on our site we answer all your questions about what do sea turtles eat
Characteristics of sea turtles
Before knowing what sea turtles eat, let's get to know them a little better. To do this, we must know that the kelonoid superfamily includes only 7 species worldwide. They all have a number of features in common:
- Shell: Turtles have a bony shell made up of ribs and part of the backbone. It consists of two pieces: the carapace (dorsal) and the plastron (ventral) that are joined laterally.
- Flippers: Unlike land turtles, sea turtles have flippers instead of feet and their bodies are optimized for passing many hours swimming.
- Habitat: sea turtles are distributed mainly in warm oceans and seas. They are almost entirely aquatic animals that live in the ocean. Only females set foot on land to lay their eggs on the beach where they hatched.
- Life cycle: The life cycle of sea turtles begins with the birth of hatchlings on beaches and their introduction into the sea. With the exception of the flatback turtle (Natator depressus), juvenile turtles have a pelagic phase that normally exceeds 5 years. Around that age, they reach maturity and start migrating.
- Migrations: Sea turtles make great migrations between the feeding area and the mating area. The females also travel to the beaches where they were born to lay their eggs, although these are usually close to the mating area.
- Senses: Like many marine animals, turtles have a highly developed sense of hearing. In addition, their eyesight is more developed than that of land turtles. Also noteworthy is their great ability to orient themselves during their long migrations.
- Sex Determination: The temperature of the sand determines the sex of the hatchlings when they are inside the egg. Thus, when temperatures are high, females develop, while low temperatures favor the development of male turtles.
- Threats: All sea turtles, except the flatback turtle (N. depressus), are globally threatened. The hawksbill sea turtle and the Kemp's ridley sea turtle are critically endangered. The main threats to these marine animals are pollution of the oceans, human occupation of the beaches, accidental fishing and the destruction of their habitats due to trawling.
Types of feeding of sea turtles
Turtles don't have teeth, but use the sharp edges of their mouths to cut food. For this reason, the diet of sea turtles is based on marine plants and invertebrates.
However, the answer to what sea turtles eat is not so simple, because not all eat the same thing. In fact, we can differentiate three types of sea turtles based on their diet:
- Carnivora
- Herbivores
- Omnivores
What do carnivorous terrapins eat?
In general, these turtles feed on all kinds of marine invertebrates, such as zooplankton, sponges, jellyfish, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms and polychaete annelids.
These are the carnivorous sea turtles and what they eat:
- Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea): it is the largest turtle in the world and its back can reach 220 cm in length. Their diet is based on jellyfish of the Scyphozoa class and zooplankton.
- Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii): this turtle lives near the coast and eats all kinds of invertebrates. Occasionally, you can also eat some algae.
- Flatback Turtle (Natator depressus): It is endemic to the continental shelf of Australia and, although they are almost exclusively carnivorous, they can also eat small amounts of algae.
If you are interested in knowing more about the feeding of the great animals of the ocean, don't miss this other article on What do whales eat.
What do herbivorous sea turtles eat?
Herbivorous aquatic turtles have a serrated horny beak that allows them to cut the plants they feed on. Specifically, they consume algae and phanerogamous plants marine such as Zoostera or Posidonia.
There is only one species of herbivorous sea turtle, the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) However, when they are hatchlings and juveniles they also consume invertebrates, that is, they are omnivorous. This difference in feeding may be due to a higher need for protein during growth.
What do omnivorous sea turtles eat?
Omnivorous sea turtles feed on invertebrate animals, plants, and some fish that live on the seabed. In this group we can include the following species:
- Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta): This widely distributed turtle feeds on all kinds of invertebrates, algae and seagrasses, and, it can even eat some fish.
- Olive Turtle (Lepidchelys olivacea): it is a turtle found in tropical and subtropical waters. His diet is very opportunistic and variable depending on where he is.
- Hawsbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata): immature hawksbills are basically carnivores. However, adults include algae in their normal diet, so they can be considered omnivores.
