are leatherback sea turtles endangered
State Status: Endangered, 1981. Federal Status: Endangered, 1970. The leatherback sea turtle (Figure 1) is the sole member of the family Dermochelyidae; all other sea turtles belong to the Cheloniidae. The leatherback is the largest, deepest diving, and most migratory and wide ranging of the sea turtles (Figure 2).