Loggerhead sea turtle

Presentation

The Loggerhead sea turtle is a large sea turtle recognizable by its particularly large head and its reddish-brown shell. It is one of the largest sea turtles today, capable of traveling thousands of kilometers across the world's oceans.

The Loggerhead sea turtle has a slightly convex, ovoid carapace, brown to reddish in color, with a disproportionately large head furnished with powerful jaws. Its four limbs are transformed into flat, tapered fins, suitable for ocean swimming. The skin is usually grayish to dark brown.

Characteristics

Indicative values: they vary by subspecies, sex and region.

Habitat and distribution

Loggerhead sea turtle mainly occupies the pelagic and coastal zones of tropical, subtropical and temperate oceans. It inhabits open waters but approaches coasts and shorelines to feed and reproduce. It also frequents bays, estuaries and transition zones between oceanic and coastal waters.

Behaviour

Loggerhead sea turtle is a remarkable ocean swimmer, capable of making long migrations between its feeding and breeding sites. It comes to the surface to breathe regularly and spends much of its time in open water. Although mostly solitary, it can form aggregations during reproduction periods.

Reproduction

Loggerhead sea turtle females return to land, often to the same place where they were born, to lay their eggs in the sand. A female generally lays between 100 and 150 eggs in a nest dug on the beach. Incubation lasts about 7 to 10 weeks, after which the young turtles head to the ocean. Sexual maturity is reached between the ages of 35 and 50.

Peculiarities

The Loggerhead sea turtle has an exceptionally large head, hence its vernacular name. Its chewing muscles are extraordinarily powerful, allowing it to crush hard shells. It is equipped with magnetic sensors which give it remarkable navigation capacity over very long distances. It is also capable of thermoregulation to maintain a body temperature slightly higher than that of the water.

Threats and conservation

The Loggerhead sea turtle faces several major threats. Accidental capture in fishing nets and hooks constitutes significant mortality. Marine pollution, particularly plastic debris that it confuses with natural prey, represents a growing threat. The destruction of nesting beaches by coastal urbanization, climate change affecting breeding sites and egg predation are other major challenges.

References

UICN — Liste rouge des espèces menacées

Profile updated 31 August 2026 · Reviewed by the TunisieVet editorial team.