Cougars Connect With A Natural Wonder
The Leatherback Sea Turtle

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has answered a question posed by our students at Crump Elementary School. The question our students selected was;

"Where do Leatherback Sea Turtles get their name? (see answer below)

Leatherback Hatchling (baby)

Alex Ellers, an educator at the Pink Palace Museum is aboard NOAA ship David Starr Jordan for 15 days in August and September while scientists conduct leatherback turtle research in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
Specifically, the study is called the LUTH survey.  (Leatherback Use of Temperate Habitat)

Species Description

The leatherback is the largest turtle and the largest living reptile in the world. Mature males and females can be as long as six and a half feet (2 m) and weigh almost 2000 lbs. (900 kg). The leatherback is the only sea turtle that lacks a hard, bony shell. A leatherback's carapace is approximately 1.5 inches (4 cm) thick and consists of leathery, oil saturated connective tissue overlaying loosely interlocking dermal bones. The carapace has seven longitudinal ridges and tapers to a blunt point. Adult leatherbacks are primarily black with a pinkish white mottled ventral surface and pale white and pink spotting on the top of the head. The front flippers lack claws and scales and are proportionally longer than in other sea turtles; back flippers are paddle-shaped. The ridged carapace and large flippers are characteristics that make the leatherback uniquely equipped for long distance foraging migrations.

Adult Leatherback Sea Turtle

We asked the scientists at NOAA...
"Where do Leatherback Sea Turtles get their name?

Below is their answer ...

They get their name from their carapace (shell).
These turtles are the only sea turtles that do not have a hard carapace.  Instead, they have a thin tough, rubbery, skin-like layer.  This skin is supported by a mosaic of tiny bone plates to help strengthen it.  Other unique features of the leatherback's shell are the 7 ridges running down its length.
Together these features give the Leatherback sea turtles
a leathery look and feel - which is how they got their name.

Special Shout-Out to Ms Helen Srinivasan (our awesome science teacher), who attended the Environmental Science Workshop and helped to get our question answered!

Helen Srinivasan

(Crump Elementary School - Science Specialist)