Leatherback Sea Turtle

Leatherback Sea Turtle facts at a glance

How big is a leatherback sea turtle?

An adult leatherback sea turtle measures 1.8 m long — about 1.0× the height of an average adult person (1.73 m) — and weighs around 400 kg, about 5.7× an average adult’s body weight (70 kg).

What is a group of leatherback sea turtles called?

Explore more animal collective nouns and baby animal names .

A shell like no other turtle

Unlike every other sea turtle, the leatherback has no hard bony shell. Instead its back is covered by a layer of tough, rubbery, oil-saturated skin over a mosaic of tiny bones, giving the animal its name. Seven raised ridges run the length of this teardrop-shaped body, streamlining it for a life of constant swimming. This flexible design lets the leatherback dive deeper than any other turtle, plunging beyond 1,000 m in search of prey.

The giant jellyfish specialist

The leatherback feeds almost exclusively on jellyfish and their relatives, the salps. Its throat is lined with backward-pointing spines that trap this slippery, gelatinous food and stop it slipping back out. Because jellyfish are mostly water, an adult must eat a huge volume every day to fuel its enormous body. This narrow diet leaves the turtle dangerously vulnerable to floating plastic bags, which it easily mistakes for a jellyfish and swallows.

Warm-blooded among reptiles

The leatherback is unusually good at keeping warm for a reptile, which is how it can feed in near-freezing water off Canada and Norway. Its large body, thick insulating fat and heat-generating muscles let it hold a core temperature well above the surrounding sea. This ability, sometimes called gigantothermy, makes it the most cold-tolerant of all turtles. It is one of the few reptiles regularly found in sub-polar waters.

Nesting and reproduction

Females return to tropical beaches every two to three years to nest, often crossing entire oceans to reach them. Over a single season a female may come ashore several times, each time digging a deep pit and laying around 80 fertile eggs. The temperature of the sand determines the sex of the hatchlings, with warmer nests producing more females. After about two months, palm-sized hatchlings dig their way out and scramble to the sea, where only a tiny fraction survive to adulthood.

An ocean traveller

Leatherbacks are among the most migratory of all animals, tracking blooms of jellyfish across thousands of kilometres of open ocean. Individuals tagged in the tropical Atlantic have been recorded feeding off the coasts of Canada and Europe within the same year. Powerful front flippers, which can span more than 2.5 m tip to tip, drive them along at speeds of up to 35 km/h. This wandering lifestyle spreads the species across a wider range than almost any other reptile.

Why it is threatened

The leatherback is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, and several regional populations have collapsed dramatically. The main threats are the harvesting of eggs, accidental capture in fishing gear, and the loss of nesting beaches to development and rising seas. Swallowed plastic and warming sand that skews hatchling sex ratios add further pressure. Protecting key nesting beaches and reducing bycatch are the most important steps for the species' recovery.

Did you know? Leatherback Sea Turtle facts

• Leatherbacks are the largest sea turtles — up to 700 kg with leathery shells and thermoregulation that lets them enter cold waters.
• A leathery carapace with ridges allows deep diving and flexibility.
• Up to 2 metres long and 700 kg — largest of all turtles.
• Conservation: Vulnerable.

Diet & feeding

Leatherback Sea Turtle feeds primarily as a jellyfish and salps. Leatherbacks dive over 1,000 metres pursuing jellyfish.

Adaptations

• Leatherbacks dive over 1,000 metres pursuing jellyfish.
• Plastic bags resemble jellyfish — ingestion kills many leatherbacks.

Behaviour & ecology

• Leatherbacks dive over 1,000 metres pursuing jellyfish.
• Plastic bags resemble jellyfish — ingestion kills many leatherbacks.

Communication

• Scent marking, body posture, and head-bobbing or tail signals communicate threat and dominance.
• Vocalisations are limited in many reptiles but hissing or bellowing occurs in some groups.

Habitat & range

Oceans worldwide

Ecological role

Leatherback Sea Turtle plays a recognised ecological role in oceans worldwide.

Conservation status of the Leatherback Sea Turtle

Sources & references

This guide is compiled and reviewed against established zoological and conservation references. Key sources for the Leatherback Sea Turtle:

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

  Conservation status (Vulnerable) reflects the IUCN Red List category for Dermochelys coriacea, most recently assessed in 2013.

• iNaturalist — observations & photos

  Search citizen-science observations and community IDs for Dermochelys coriacea. Useful for range checks and recent sightings — not a substitute for formal Red List status.

• GBIF — occurrence data

  Global Biodiversity Information Facility species search for Dermochelys coriacea. Explore published occurrence records used in range research.

• IUCN Red List — Dermochelys coriacea.

  Conservation status (Vulnerable) and population trends.

• Animal Diversity Web — Dermochelys coriacea. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

  Life history, morphology, and range.

• Global Animal Guide editorial standards

  How we research, source, review, and update every guide for accuracy.