Thursday, September 3, 2009

Thursday Thirteen!

Thirteen Species of Turtle and an Interesting Fact About Each of Them!


1.
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Size: Can reach more than 26 inches
Weight: Up to 300 pounds.
Interesting Fact: They are the largest freshwater turtle in the world.

2.
American Snapping Turtle
Size: Up to 19 inches with males larger than females
Weight: Up to 45 pounds with males larger than females
Interesting Fact: They are characterized by their massive heads, strong jaws, keeled brown carapace, and long tails.


3.
Box Turtle
Size: Between 5 to 6 inches. Males have longer tails than females.
Interesting Fact: A box turtle lives most of its long life in a small parcel of land near its place of birth. This area is known as its home range, an area not much larger than a couple of football fields.


4.
Eastern River Cooter Turtle
Size: Up to 12 inches in length.
Interesting Fact: They are very difficult to capture


5.
Green Sea Turtle
Size: Average nesting female carapace (shell) is about 32 to 43 inches
Weight: Average nesting female is about 243 to 408 pounds
Interesting Fact: Females lay about 100 to 120 eggs in each clutch.


6.
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Size: Average carapace is about 35 inches (90 cm)
Weight: Average is about 132 pounds (60 kg)
Interesting Fact: The Hawksbill turtle is well known for their beautiful shell, which is referred to as 'tortoise shell'.


7.
Leatherback Sea Turtle
Size: About 6 feet (1.8 meters) front to back. With the front arm span around 8 feet (2.5 meters) Weight: Between 1200 pounds (550 kg) and 1450 pounds (664 kg)
Interesting Fact: The largest of the sea turtles.


8.
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Size: Their shell can range between 35 inches (90 cm) and 3 feet (1 meter)
Weight: They can reach around 154 pounds (70 kg) and more
Interesting Fact: They nest four to five times a season.


9.
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
Size: The carapace can range between 22 to 30 inches (55 to 75 cm)
Weight: Average nesting females can weigh around 77 pounds (35 kg)
Interesting Fact: Lives in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.


10.
Painted Turtle
Size: 4 to 10 inches, with females being larger than males
Interesting Fact: They are the most prevalent species of turtle in North America.


11.
Slider Turtle
Size: From 5 to 12 inches with females larger than males
Interesting Fact: They are one of the most common pet turtles.


12.
Spotted Turtle
Size: An average of 4 inches, less than 5 inches in length
Interesting Fact: These turtles like to hide under plants, sticking just their head out.


13.
Wood Turtle
Size: Up to 9 inches in length.
Interesting Fact: These turtles are now an endangered species because they were once hunted for food.



Links to other Thursday Thirteens!(Leave your link with Mister Linky when you comment, and I'll add you here!)



*hugs*













18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aww I love turtles! Great list. Sea turtles have to be my favorite. My kids watch Finding Nemo all the time and the turtles are my favorite part. Happy Thursday!

Inez Kelley said...

GAH!!! Damien wants a turtle and I told him I would think about it. he bribed you, didn't he??? Admit it!!

Anonymous said...

Awwwww ..... I love turtles. Great list, Paige! Happy Thursday!

Anonymous said...

I'm not a turtle devotee, but it's still a good list.

Heather said...

Great post, Paige. Peronally, I like the itty bitty box turtles.

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Angeleque Ford said...

I love turtles. I have a stuffed one by one desk.

Jennifer McKenzie said...

Oooo very cool! Love this post, Paige.

Nina Pierce said...

I love turtles. Something about them make them just so darn cute. But to think they're in the water where I swim gives me the shivers. LOL!

David Bridger said...

Some of these little guys are living examples of tenacity, aren't they? We had one wash up on our shores (English west country) recently, after swimming all the way across the Atlantic. A group of experts are giving him some TLC before flying him home.

Felicia Holt said...

Turtle Thursday? New concept?

Their cute, anyway!

Ella Drake said...

We have a painted turtle. Those suckers are faster than you'd think!

The Bumbles said...

I'm partial to the Loggerheads. I am always amazed at how their lives begin - so tiny and alone venturing out to avoid their predators on the beach gauntlet in order to reach the sea.

Janice Seagraves said...

When I was young we found a desert tortiose out in the country, it had a hole drilled in its shell. It must have been someone's pet. We took it home and it lived in our backyard for years, and got turned on it back every morning by the dog.

Happy TT.
Janice~

Unknown said...

You are right that turtles have a home territory. So, if you do happen to see one in the wild, please leave him there. If he happens to be crossing the road, simply move him 30-50 feet in the direction he was headed.

Wild turtles do no make good pets, and often die in captivity.

Thanks for sharing this information.

Anonymous said...

I heart sea turtles - number 1, however, kinad scared me, lol.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

All of the sea turtles look so majestic. What an interesting Thursday Thirteen, Paige!

Julie Robinson said...

Thank you, Paige, for all this info. I'm catching up on emails and saw your post about this. Very interesting and unusual, but I really enjoyed this one. I never realized there were so many kinds of turtles. Or at least I never thought about it.
Julie

Paige Tyler said...

Sophia - Thanks! Love the turtles in Finding Nemo! They're such cool dudes! LOL!

Inez - LOL!

Stephanie - Thanks! Me, too!

Alice - Thanks!

Heather - Thanks!

Angeleque - Me, too!

Jennifer - Thanks!

Nina - Aren't they cute?!

David - Wow!

Flicka - LOL!

Ella - Cool!

The Bumbles - Isn't that cool?!

Janice - How cute!

Tantra - You're welcome! I thought it was interesting, too!

Etchinstone - Me, too! LOL!

Julia - Thanks!

Julie - Thanks!

*hugs*