The Leatherback: A 2,000-Pound Sea Turtle Without a Hard Shell

The largest sea turtle alive has no hard shell. The leatherback can weigh between 550 and 2,000 pounds and grow up to six feet long, and instead of a shell or scales it is covered in firm, rubbery skin — which is what sets it apart from every other sea turtle.

A leatherback turtle eating a jellyfish off Cape Cod. Credit: NOAA.

Where it roams

Leatherbacks range as far north as Canada and the northern Pacific Ocean, but they tend to nest in the tropics. In the United States they are known to nest in southeast Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

What it eats

The leatherback feeds mostly on jellyfish.

Why it is endangered

The U.S. federal government lists the leatherback as endangered worldwide. Its main threats are being caught accidentally in commercial fisheries, marine pollution and the harvest of its eggs.

Sources

Based on "What is the largest sea turtle?" from NOAA's National Ocean Service, a work of the United States government in the public domain.