### animal | vertebrate | reptile | turtle:

Sea turtle
* All sea turtle eat marine animals such as sponges, marine worms and molluscs
  - turtles are unique in their own way
* All sea turtles begin life on land before crawling to the water
  - their lives as tiny hatchlings on a beach
* All sea turtles have a similar life history
  - rather flat, streamlined carapaces that move easily through the water
  - their own special faces just like people do
  - lay their eggs in nests dug in open sandy beaches
  - share a similar behavior pattern when nesting
* Many sea turtles drown when they are caught in fishing nets and shrimp trawls
  - recover completely in about one week
* Most sea turtles are found in warm temperate seas
  - limited to tropical and temperate waters
  - become adults
* Most sea turtles go into open water
* Most sea turtles graze on plants
  - underwater plants
* Most sea turtles have bones
  - eyelids
  - legs
  - shells
  - size
  - soft shells
  - upper eyelids
* Most sea turtles inhabit different environments
  - oceans
  - lack teeth
  - lay their eggs at night in order to expose their eggs to fewer predators
* Most sea turtles live in seawater
  - warm seas throughout the world
  - play roles
  - return to shores
  - roam oceans
* Most sea turtles suffer fate
  - same fate
* Most sea turtles use beaches
  - nest beaches
  - same nest beaches
* Some sea turtles die when they ingest trash
  - dig holes
* Some sea turtles eat grass
  - jellyfish
  - plankton
* Some sea turtles feed on cayman island turtle farms
  - prey
* Some sea turtles have decades
  - diets
  - flippers
  - glands
  - many natural predators
  - relatives
  - shapes
* Some sea turtles leave oceans
* Some sea turtles live in oceans
  - look like fins
* Some sea turtles reach maturity
  - sexual maturity
  - rely on light
* Some sea turtles return to oceans
  - survive extinction
  - undertake impressive migrations to find food
  - weigh lbs
* add to the biodiversity of life, and in that way they benefit humans.
* are air-breathing reptiles that spend most of their lives in the ocean
  - virtually their entire lives at sea
* are also a common sight
  - excellent divers, able to stay underwater for long periods of time
  - great divers
* are among the four surviving seawater-adapted reptiles
  - largest living reptiles and are exceptionally long-lived
  - most popular and familiar of the marine animals
  - rare and endangered species and are hunted
* are an important part of cultural history for people all over the world
  - the cultural history of northwestern Mexico
  - ancient creatures and very charismatic
  - at risk when encountering an oil spill
  - awkward and vulnerable on land
  - born with the instinct to move toward the brightest direction
  - characterized by a large, streamlined shell
  - clearly under threat of extinction due to human activities
  - cold blooded animals, and they have a really slow metabolic rate
  - common animals found living in coral reefs
  - dependent on beaches for nesting
  - excellent swimmers using their long forelimbs as paddles
  - extremely hydrodynamic
  - frequently victims of boat strikes
  - generally solitary creatures
* are gentle animals that only come to shore to lay their soft-shelled eggs
  - reptiles that spend the majority of their lives in the ocean
  - graceful saltwater reptiles, well adapted to life in their marine world
* are important because they make up part of the marine ecosystem
  - cultural icons for many indigenous cultures
  - just about ready to come ashore and lay their eggs at the present time
  - known to feed and rest off and on during a typical day
  - large, aquatic reptiles with forelimbs specially modified for swimming
  - magnificent swimmers, migrating thousands of miles each year
  - marine organisms
  - no exception and ingest or get caught in everything from fishing line to balloons
  - notoriously sensitive to development
  - on the brink of extinction
  - one of the Earth's most ancient creatures
* are one of the most attractive, yet vulnerable, of all marine vertebrates
  - mysterious animals to be found around the globe
  - part of two ecosystems, the coastal system and the marine system
  - protected under the Endangered Species Act
  - reptiles, and lack many of the temperature - regulating mechanisms found in humans
  - splendid, beautiful creatures
  - strong swimmers and divers
  - survivors from the age of the dinosaurs
  - susceptible to high egg and early-life mortality and rely heavily on adult survival
  - tagged for several reasons
* are the earth's oldest living vertebrate animals
  - heaviest aquatic reptiles alive today
  - stuff that legends are made of
  - tough to study
  - unable to pull their heads or appendages into their shells
* are very cool, too
* benefit from any reduction of artificial lighting on the nesting beach.
* breathe air.
* can become entangled in debris such as discarded netting
  - choke on plastic bags and balloons they mistake for jellyfish
  - hold their breath for several hours, depending upon the level of activity
  - live for months without food or water
  - mistake balloons and plastic bags for jellyfish, their favorite food
  - raise their heads only a few inches out of the water and have poor vision
* can see well under water but are shortsighted in the air
  - underwater, but are nearsighted out of the water
* come ashore late spring and summer to nest
  - on the beaches on summer nights
  - to shore to mate and lay their eggs
* come to the most remote beaches to lay their eggs
  - shore, dig a nest near the water s edge, and lay their eggs there
* dance amidst colorful coral.
* die when struck by boats, or drown in trawl nets.
* differ from land turtles in a variety of ways.
* do the same.
* drown unnecessarily in shrimp nets in huge numbers.
* eat crabs and snails, using their beaks to crack the shells
  - jellyfish, seaweed, crabs, shrimp, snails, algae and mollusks
  - plants growing in reefs and take to nearby beaches to lay their eggs
* enjoy a smorgasbord of sea food, particularly jelly fish.
* excrete salt absorbed in sea water from their eyes, which is why they seem to cry
  - salts through tear ducts
* exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination.
* face a number of hardships
  - whole new set of problems once they reach the water
  - many natural hazards and are also affected by human activities
  - numerous hazards
* find their way by following the reflection of the moon and stars on the water.
* gather together to mate.
* get twice that much.
* hatch from eggs laid on beaches and immediately scuttle for the nearest waves
  - throughout the year but mostly in summer
* have a special adaption for diving
  - an extremely high natural mortality rate, and are slow to mature
  - different diets, depending on the species
  - feet designed for swimming
  - good underwater vision, and are sensitive to visible and ultraviolet colors
  - jaws
  - large tear glands that concentrate salt and shed it in huge, salty tears
* have large upper eyelids that protect their eyes
  - provide protection for their eyes
  - legs shaped like long paddles, with flippers instead of feet
  - long paddle like fore flippers
  - lots of human friends, however
  - special glands near their tear ducks called lachrymal glands
  - the waters around Maui and the other Hawaiian islands
* lay their eggs in the sand dunes.
* lay their eggs on dry , sandy beaches
* live alone from the moment they rush to the water from the shore.
* live in almost every ocean of the world
  - the sea and lay their eggs on land
  - tropical and temperate seas throughout the world
* make up another group of marine animals that become stranded along the Atlantic coast.
* mate in water.
* migrate thousands of miles in their lifetime through ocean basins and high seas.
* mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and die from internal blockages.
* mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, a favorite food, and choke to death
  - one of their favorite foods
* nest on beaches
  - gulf coast beaches
  - places
  - suitable places
* obtain enough fresh water from their diet and from processing seawater.
* overcome incredible obstacles to complete their life cycles.
* possess an excellent sense of smell
  - impressive navigational skills
* rely on the reflection of moonlight to locate the ocean.
* return each year to nest on the beaches
* roam earth
* spend most of their life in the ocean
  - time in the water
  - nearly their whole lives in the water
* spend their adolescent years growing up in the lagoon
  - lives at sea, but they depend on beaches to incubate their eggs
  - virtually their whole life in water
* stick their necks out in the Seattle streets.
* strand on shores.
* swim in oceans.
* swim to ocean surfaces
* tend to return to the same nesting beaches year after year
  - stay close to the surface, a surprising find of the study
* to escape predators.
* use a two-way coordinate system based on magnetic dip and intensity
  - beaches and the lower dunes to nest and lay their eggs
  - their beak to tear at their meal
* visit the island to nest and lay their eggs.
* weep large tears to wash out sand and to get rid of extra salt in their body.
+ Turtle, Ecology and life history: Living fossils
  * Turtles lay eggs, like other reptiles, which are slightly soft and leathery. The eggs of the largest species are spherical, while the eggs of the rest are elongated. Sea turtles lay their eggs on dry, sandy beaches. Turtles can take many years to reach breeding age, and in many cases breed every few years rather than annually.