Sea Turtles

Sea turtles are large, air-breathing reptiles that inhabit tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world. They do not have teeth, but their jaws have modified "beaks" suited to their particular diet. They do not have visible ears but have eardrums covered by skin. They hear best at low frequencies, and they have an acute sense of smell. Their vision underwater is good, but they are nearsighted out of water. Their streamlined bodies and large flippers make them remarkably adapted to life at sea. However, sea turtles maintain close ties to land. Sea turtles have an extraordinary sense of time and location. They are highly sensitive to the Earth's magnetic field and use it to navigate. They can live up to 189 years. The fact that most species return to nest at the locations where they were born seems to indicate an imprint of that location's magnetic features. To find more sea turtle pictures, please click here.