Sea Turtles

It usually lives in coastal waters that have lots of marine vegetation or on islands and bays. It is rarely seen at high sea. It weighs an average of 160 kg and its shell measures a little over a meter. The head is small and has a serrated jaw, which facilitates feeding. Nesting mainly occurs on oceanic islands: trindade Island (Espírito Santo State), Atol das Rocas (Rio Grande do Norte State) and Fernando de Noronha (Pernambuco State).

It is found on all tropical and temperate oceans of the world. It usually lives most of its life in the oceanic area, far away from the coast. It is a highly migratory species and may feed on a continent and nest on another one. The only regular nesting area that we know of in Brazil is on the north coast of Espírito Santo State.

It is carnivorous throughout its life cycle and has a extremely strong jaw. Its favorite food is crabs, mussels and clams. It is known as loggerhead turtle because, proportionally, it has a larger head than the other species. In Brazil, the main nesting areas are located in the north of Bahia state, Espírito Santo state, north of Rio de Janeiro state and Sergipe state.

Four side plates that overlap like the one of a hawk. It feeds on sponges, anemones, squid and shrimp. The narrow head and beak allow this turtle to seek food in coral reefs crevices. The name “comb made” refers to the time when these turtle's shell were used to make combs, jewlry, eyeglass frames, other tools and props.

It was named after the olive color of its shell tone may become reddish because of algae growing on the carapace. It has a small head and powerful jaws. It is carnivorous. It feeds on salps, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, bryozoans, tunicates and jellyfish. In places where there are many shrimps, tehre are also many olive ridley turtles. The reproduction area is located between the south coast of the Alagoas State and the north coast of Bahia State but the larger number of nests happens in the Sergipe State.