Leatherback sea turtle Temporal range: Holocene
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Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, United States Virgin Islands | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Chelonioidea |
Family: | Dermochelyidae |
Subfamily: | Dermochelyinae |
Genus: | Dermochelys Blainville, 1816[3] |
Species: | D. coriacea
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Binomial name | |
Dermochelys coriacea | |
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Synonyms[4] | |
List of synonyms
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The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle, leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in) and weights of 500 kilograms (1,100 lb).[5][6][7] It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named.[8] Leatherback turtles have a global range, although there are multiple distinct subpopulations. The species as a whole is considered vulnerable, and some of its subpopulations are critically endangered.
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