Sea turtle belonging to the group of reptiles that have a very wide range area, which inhabit tropical and subtropical ocean around the world. Sea turtles are thought to have inhabited the earth over 100 million years. Therefore, the sea turtle is known as a living fossil.
Turtle has undergone several adaptations for living in the sea, among which the presence of the hands and feet are shaped like fins and a more slender body shape allows them to swim in the water. Sea turtles also have the ability to secrete salts ingested seawater come with the food they eat and also the ability to stay in the water for a long time for about 20-30 minutes. Ear sea turtles can not be seen, but they have eardrums that are protected by the skin. Sea turtles can hear sounds with low frequencies very well and their sense of smell is also amazing. They also can see very well in the water . Sea turtles have shells that protect their bodies from predators .
Sea turtles different from turtles. When viewed at a glance, they do look alike. The most distinctive characteristic that distinguishes sea turtles with turtles is that sea turtles can not pull his head in when feeling threatened.
The types of turtles in Indonesia.
There are seven species of sea turtles in the world, six of which are found in the waters of Indonesia. namely:Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta)
Olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea)
Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
Flatback (Natator depressus
Turtle species most commonly found and have large home ranges in the waters of the Indonesian archipelago is the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) followed by the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). Green turtles are not easy to distinguish from other turtles. We can see the picture to know the difference.
Breeding.
Turtles need at least 15-50 years to be able to perform the marriage. During the mating period, the male sea turtles caught the attention of females by rubbing his head or neck biting the female. The male then hooked her into the back of the female's shell. Then he folded the long tail down the female shell. Some males can compete to grab the attention of the female.Only the female sea turtle who goes to the beach to nest and incubate the eggs. Male sea turtles rarely come back to the shore after they hatch. Sea turtles go to incubate their eggs to the beach where they were first born.
Female turtles climb onto the beach to lay their eggs. With the front legs, they dig a hole to lay her eggs. Then they fill the hole with the eggs of approximately 100 grains (maybe even more). Then they carefully close the hole with sand and leveling the sand to conceal or disguise the location of the egg hole. After this exhausting process for approximately 1-3 hours ended, they returned to the sea.
Turtles are generally slow and awkward when on the ground, and lay eggs is very tiring, turtles are laying often seen tears, when in fact they secrete excess salts in the body. Some turtles can stop the process of laying eggs when they are disturbed or feel in danger. Therefore, it is important to know that do not disturb the turtles are laying.
Threats to sea turtles.
Sea turtle has experienced a dramatic decline in the number of population in the last period. Even some species face extinction in the near future. In the wild, turtles newly hatched faced death threats from animals such as crabs, birds, and reptiles such as lizards.The greatest threat to turtles in Indonesia, as well as throughout the world, are human. Excessive coastal development have reduced habitat for nesting sea turtles. Catching turtles to be taken eggs, meat, leather, and shells had made a turtle populations decreases. In some states, residents are still picking turtle eggs for consumption. The eggs can be found in the market. Green turtles including sea turtles used excessively (over-exploitation) by the Indonesian population. They were killed for meat. Bali is the largest consumer of sea turtles. They use a turtle in their traditional ceremonies. Thousands of sea turtles have been killed to satisfy market demand in Bali.
Rescue action.
Turtle has been listed in the list of Appendix I of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species - CITES). The convention prohibits all international trade in all products / results derived from the turtle, be it eggs, meat, and shells.We ourselves can help to preserve the sea turtle species, that is the way;
Do not consume food derived from turtles (eggs, meat)
Not using items made from turtle shells (egg, glasses frames, etc)
Do not dispose of waste plastic and other objects that are harmful to the sea. Turtles can misinterpret certain plastics as their food is jellyfish, causing illness or death of sea turtles eat.
Not disturb the turtles are laying because they can stop the process of laying eggs when feeling threatened.
Not picking turtle eggs because it would destroy their populations
Maintaining the health of our coral reefs. Healthy coral reefs are places to eat and places to stay good for turtles.
Support the sea turtle conservation program.
So, thank you for reading this article. Written and posted by Bambang Sunarno.
sunarnobambang86@gmail.com
author:
http://schema.org/Personal.
https://plus.google.com/105319704331231770941.
name: Bambang Sunarno.
http://primadonablog.blogspot.com/2014/01/did-you-know-about-turtles.html
DatePublished: January 25, 2014 at 16:18
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Tag ; Did You Know About Turtles, turtles
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