{"id":2295,"date":"2015-12-23T14:17:39","date_gmt":"2015-12-23T14:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=2295"},"modified":"2016-10-07T15:14:40","modified_gmt":"2016-10-07T15:14:40","slug":"five-things-you-didnt-know-about-leatherback-seaturtles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-leatherback-seaturtles\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Leatherback Seaturtles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that Leatherback seaturtles have been around since the time of the dinosaurs? Or that they can boast the most extensive geographic range of any reptile? These turtles are fascinating creatures. I bet you\u2019d never guess\u2026<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Leatherbacks can’t swim backwards.
    \nThese reptiles are unable to swim backwards, causing these turtles a lot of grief when they swim into fishing nets and lines in the ocean. Without the ability to back out of them, they can get caught in fishing gear and drown.<\/li>\n
  2. Leatherbacks have hundreds of backward facing spines in their mouths.
    \nWithout pearly whites to chomp down on jellyfish, Leatherbacks rely on the two cusps on their upper and lower jaws to grab their prey. To help swallow Jellyfish, their entire esophageal tract is lined with spines that not only prevent their prey from escaping, but also shred jellyfish to pieces as they travel towards the Leatherbacks\u2019 stomachs.<\/li>\n
  3. Leatherbacks don\u2019t have hard shells.
    \nLeatherbacks are the only seaturtles that don\u2019t have hard shells; instead they\u2019re equipped with leathery skinned shells (hence their name!). Their shells made up of a thick layer or oil-saturatated fat, tiny plates, and connective tissue; they can grow over two metres in length.<\/li>\n
  4. Leatherbacks have a gland on their foreheads that help them navigate.
    \nResearchers are learning more and more about these remarkable pineal glands, and are finding that Leatherbacks can thank this soft cover for helping them navigate. Acting as a kind of skylight, the pink spot on the top of their forehead allows sunlight to beam directly into the pineal gland, helping them to keep in sync with the seasons, and to know when to migrate north for food and south to mate. Moreover, this pink spot atop every Leatherback\u2019s head, is unique to each, individual turtle \u2013 just like a human fingerprint.<\/li>\n
  5. Leatherbacks are the largest of all seaturtles.
    \nWhen they hatch, Leatherbacks weigh approximately 45 grams and their carapace ranges between 50 and 75 millimetres in length. \u00a0Although mature Leatherbacks can weigh more than 900 kilograms and have carapace lengths longer than two metres, the average weight of Leatherbacks documented in Atlantic Canadian waters is 392 kilograms, and the average carapace length is 148 centimetres.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    ——————————————-<\/p>\n

    Cinq faits que vous ignorez \u00e0 propos des tortues luths<\/h2>\n

    Savez-vous qu\u2019il y a des tortues luths depuis l\u2019\u00e9poque des dinosaures? Ou encore que leur aire de r\u00e9partition est plus vaste que celle de n\u2019importe quelle autre esp\u00e8ce de reptiles? Ces tortues sont des animaux fascinants. \u00c0 mon avis, les cinq faits suivants vous \u00e9tonneront\u2026<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Les tortues luths ne peuvent nager \u00e0 reculons.\n

      Ces tortues ne peuvent nager vers l\u2019arri\u00e8re et elles se trouvent ainsi en grande difficult\u00e9 lorsqu\u2019elles se heurtent \u00e0 des filets et des lignes de p\u00eache dans l\u2019oc\u00e9an. Incapables de reculer, elles peuvent s\u2019emp\u00eatrer dans l\u2019\u00e9quipement de p\u00eache et se noyer.<\/li>\n

    2. Dans la gueule, les tortues luths ont des centaines d\u2019\u00e9pines orient\u00e9es vers l\u2019arri\u00e8re.
      \nD\u00e9pourvues de dents, les tortues luths attrapent des m\u00e9duses \u00e0 l\u2019aide de deux pointes que pr\u00e9sentent leurs m\u00e2choires sup\u00e9rieure et inf\u00e9rieure. Pour avaler les m\u00e9duses, elles peuvent compter sur les \u00e9pines qui tapissent enti\u00e8rement leur \u0153sophage et qui retiennent ces proies, tout en les d\u00e9chiquetant, au fur et \u00e0 mesure de leur progression vers l\u2019estomac.<\/li>\n
    3. Les tortues luths n\u2019ont pas de carapace dure.
      \nLes tortues luths sont les seules tortues de mer \u00e0 ne pas avoir de carapace dure; leur carapace est plut\u00f4t recouverte d\u2019une peau \u00e0 l\u2019aspect de cuir. Leur carapace se compose d\u2019une couche \u00e9paisse de graisse huileuse, de petites plaques et de tissu conjonctif; elle peut atteindre une longueur de plus de deux m\u00e8tres.<\/li>\n
    4. Les tortues luths ont une glande dans le front qui les aide \u00e0 se diriger.
      \nLes chercheurs d\u00e9couvrent de plus en plus de choses sur ces remarquables glandes pin\u00e9ales, et ils constatent que cette surface particuli\u00e8re permet aux luths de mieux s\u2019orienter. Un peu \u00e0 la mani\u00e8re d\u2019un puits de lumi\u00e8re, la tache rose qui est sur le dessus de leur front permet aux rayons de soleil d\u2019atteindre directement la glande pin\u00e9ale, ce qui aide les tortues luths \u00e0 suivre le rythme des saisons et \u00e0 savoir quand partir en migration vers le nord pour se nourrir et vers le sud pour se reproduire. En outre, chaque tortue luth a une tache rose diff\u00e9rente de celle des autres tortues luths \u2013 comme les empreintes digitales chez les humains.<\/li>\n
    5. Les tortues luths sont les plus grandes tortues de mer.
      \n\u00c0 leur \u00e9closion, les luths p\u00e8sent environ 45 grammes, et leur carapace a une longueur de 50 \u00e0 75\u00a0millim\u00e8tres. Bien qu\u2019\u00e0 l\u2019\u00e2ge adulte les tortues luths puissent atteindre un poids sup\u00e9rieur \u00e0 900 kilogrammes et que leur carapace puisse d\u00e9passer deux m\u00e8tres de longueur, le poids moyen des tortues luths des eaux canadiennes de l\u2019Atlantique pour lesquelles des donn\u00e9es ont pu \u00eatre recueillies est de 392 kilogrammes, et la longueur moyenne de la carapace est de 148 centim\u00e8tres.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      Did you know that Leatherback seaturtles have been around since the time of the dinosaurs? Or that they can boast the most extensive geographic range of any reptile? These turtles…<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[636,6],"tags":[134,136,620],"class_list":["post-2295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coasts-oceans","category-endangered-species","tag-great-canadian-turtle-race","tag-leatherback-sea-turtle","tag-marine-conservation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2295"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2299,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295\/revisions\/2299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}