Loggerhead sea turtle — Caretta caretta

Overview

NOAA Fisheries describes a somewhat heart-shaped, reddish carapace over a pale yellow plastron. Powerful jaws crush bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Like other sea turtles, loggerheads cannot pull their head or flippers into the shell, and they must surface to breathe.

Young turtles spend years in open-ocean habitats before moving to coastal areas to feed and grow. Adults migrate between feeding and nesting grounds. Females usually return to the general area where they hatched and lay their eggs on sandy beaches. Bycatch, pollution and habitat loss threaten the species, and warmer nesting sand can shift hatchling sex ratios.

In Greece, ARCHELON runs tagging programs on Zakynthos, in Kyparissia Bay and at Rethymno. Female B2494 was tagged on Zakynthos in 1986 and seen nesting there again in 2022, giving at least 36 years of known reproduction. Tag loss limits long-term identification. Double tagging and, later, PIT tags help reduce that limitation.

Origins & earliest records

The original scientific description was not verified in the supplied sources.

Evidence & interpretation

The NOAA Fisheries species profile supports the biology and threats. An ARCHELON news report supports the Greek nesting sites and tagging history.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Loggerhead Turtle

   NOAA Fisheries · n.d.

   Selected bibliography; appearance, life history and threats.

2. 02

   A breath away from registering a new world record on the years of known active reproduction of a loggerhead sea turtle is ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece

   ARCHELON · 2023

   Selected bibliography; Greek tagging programs and long-term nesting record.

Family, evolution & connections

Taxonomic classification

A hierarchy of classified groups, not a chain of direct ancestors.

Source note: Order and family follow NOAA Fisheries. The naming authority was not verified.

1. orderTestudines
2. familyCheloniidae
3. speciesCaretta caretta

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Government species profileLoggerhead TurtleResearch access: 2026-10-06
2. Conservation organization newsA breath away from registering a new world record on the years of known active reproduction of a loggerhead sea turtle is ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of GreeceResearch access: 2026-10-06

Image credits

A loggerhead sea turtle swims beside a rocky reef in blue water, with several scuba divers behind it.

Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), photographed by G.P. Schmahl/NOAA. Original composition with reef and divers retained; source gives no capture date or location.