Leatherback Turtle
Dermochelys coriacea

Geographical Distribution:

• The leatherback turtle is much better adapted to temperate climates (a thermoregulator) than any other of the turtles, and is thus the most widely distributed of all the turtles.
• Their breeding grounds are located in the tropical and subtropical latitudes.
• The turtles are regularly seen in the North Sea, Barents Sea, Argentina and Chile.
• The nesting leatherback turtle can be found throughout the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and has been sighted, albeit infrequently, in the Mediterranean. It is thought that the Indo-pacific population is most underthreat.
• As the leatherback turtle spends most of its life in open water, very little is known about the hatchlings after they leave the nests.