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WBM august 2013
REGAL REPTILES
• The loggerhead sea turtle is one
of the most widespread and most
migratory of marine reptiles.
• Its carapace, or top shell, is heart
shaped and covered with large scales
or scutes that provide protection. The
number and grouping of carapace
scutes can be used to distinguish the
different species of sea turtle.
• Loggerheads have five pairs of costal
(along the side) scutes and two pairs
of prefrontal (found above the eye)
scutes.
• Loggerheads feast on crabs, clams
and snails, using their strong jaws to
break open shells. Jellyfish and sea
nettles also supplement their diet.
• Loggerheads reach sexual maturity
at around 35 years old. A female
may nest three to five times in one
breeding season, returning to the
same region where she hatched to
breed every couple of years.
ON THE MARCH
• Unlike their American relatives
with claws, Caribbean spiny lobsters
have long whip-like antennae, which
are used in sensory perception and
as an intimidation tactic. They use
their large abdominal muscles and
tail fan to rapidly propel them back-wards
and away from an advancing
predator.
• A lobster can self amputate as
a form of self defense. When an
appendage is caught, it can be
severed and later regrown.
• Spiny lobsters venture out of crevices
at night to feed on clams, crabs,
blennies and sea urchins. Skates,
sharks, octopi, snappers and groupers
are predators.
• In the fall, spiny lobsters engage
in a migratory march, single file,
to warmer, deeper waters. These
processions can be 100 lobsters
long. Spiny lobsters are one of
the few invertebrates able to truly
migrate and may use the Earth’s
magnetic field as a map.