Loggerhead Turtle

• comportamientoIt nests on beaches in both the eastern and western Mediterranean, and hatchlings from a single clutch may disperse to very different feeding grounds in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean itself.
• It is the largest hard-shelled turtle in the world; only the leatherback, with its leathery shell, is bigger.
• It carries more encrusting organisms than any other sea turtle: more than 50 invertebrate species have been identified on its shell.
• It can stay submerged for up to four hours, though its usual dives last between 15 and 30 minutes.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton with a shell (reptile)

Habitat and environment

Subtropical and temperate coastal and estuarine waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean; it follows great warm currents such as the Gulf Stream and the California Current

Sexual maturity

17-33 years depending on the population; in Australia it is estimated at 34 to 37 years and in South Africa at an average of 36.2 years

Gestation / incubation

45-80 days depending on temperature, averaging 55-60 days; the sex of the hatchlings depends on the incubation temperature (optimum between 26 and 32 °C)

Litter / clutch size

100-130 eggs per nest and 3-5 nests a season, 12-17 days apart; the females nest again every 2-3 years

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; NOAA Fisheries; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Animal Diversity Web; AnAge (Avens et al. 2015); Olive Ridley Project; WWF; Nel et al. 2014, Endangered Species Research

Best time: The nesting season, between May and August in the northern hemisphere