Loggerhead sea turtle
Caretta caretta

Loggerhead sea turtle carapace illustration: M. Demma © ICRAM

Diagnostic features:

• Heart shaped carapace, its width about 80% of its length.
• Head is large and broad and takes up 25% of carapace length.
• Strong horny beak, thicker than other sea turtles.
• Carapace scutes are thin but very hard and rough, often covered in barnacles.
• Five central plates or scutes.
• Fore flippers quite short and thick, each with 2 claws.
• Rear flippers have 2 or 3 claws.
• Hatchlings and juveniles have 3 keels down carapace length formed from blunt spines
• Colour:

  Adults are generally evenly covered on the top (dorsal) side.

  Top colour is reddish brown with dark streaks in South African turtles.

  Orange-cream on their flanks

  Orange-cream on underside

  Hatchlings are dark-brown on top with pale brown margins to flippers and underside