For the most part, marine reptiles keep warm by changing their behavior. They may haul out on land to bask, use warm water currents or migrate with the seasons. All, or some of these adaptations may be used. The diversity of adaptations mirrors the diversity of marine reptiles. Long, stiff fore flippers pull them through the water while the hind flippers steer.
Large eyes gather light in dark depths.
The nostrils are placed high on the tip of the beak to catch a breath quickly at the surface. And like whales, their feeding grounds are often at great distances from their breeding grounds. There is growing evidence that long distance migrations may be guided by magnetic cues. The records of five species of marine turtles are the only representatives of reptiles on the Bank. The other species use the Bank during the short season of late summer, visit sporadically with warm water episodes or are juveniles, lost from wandering or tossed by storms.