Sea turtles are truly a global species found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide. They have survived in the seas for more than 200 million years and are among a small group of reptiles that depend on the sea for survival.
The jaw structure of the different sea turtle species is adapted for their diet. The finely serrated jaws of the green sea turtle are adapted for its vegetarian diet of sea grasses and algae. A hawksbill has a narrow head with jaws meeting at an acute angle, with which it gets sponges, tunicates and shrimps from crevices in coral reefs. The jaws of loggerhead and ridley turtles are adapted for crushing and grinding crabs, shrimps, mollusks, jellyfish, and vegetation. Leatherbacks have delicate scissor-like jaws that would be damaged by anything other than their normal diet of jellyfish, tunicates, and other soft-bodied animals.
Unfortunately, all seven sea turtle species face many threats both in the ocean and on land including: mostly illegal hunting and egg collecting, loss of habitat and nesting sites, entanglement in fishing gear, and unusually cold weather.
