Sea Turtle - Caretta Caretta
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) is a sea turtle and the only member of the genus Caretta. The genus name "Caretta" is a latinization of the French "caret", meaning turtle, tortoise, or sea turtle. A loggerhead sea turtle reportedly grows up to 800 lbs (364 kg) and 3.5 feet (1.1 m) long. Their shell color is a reddish brown color, and the color of their skin is brown yellow. They are named for their disproportionately large head.
In the Mediterranean, Loggerheads mate from late March to early June. The female nesting season is at its peak in June and July, but this depends on the nesting Beach. The clutch may vary from 70 to 150 eggs. Each egg is roughly the size and shape of a ping-pong ball. The average interval between nesting seasons is two to three years.
Loggerhead turtles are the most common sea turtle to nest in the United States. Loggerheads nest from Texas to North Carolina, requiring soft sandy Beaches, where there is little light pollution; with the largest concentration of nests in south Florida Beaches. Statistics collected in FL Beach since 1998 however indicate the lowest nesting levels Florida has seen in 17 years, where nesting rates have declined from 85,988 nests in 1998 to approximately 45,084 in 2007.
