Description

The leatherback is the world's largest turtle; the largest recorded individual weighed a massive 916 kilograms (5). This turtle earned its common name because it lacks the typical bony plates on its carapace. Instead, its shell is flexible and covered in a thin layer of leathery skin. This turtle is dark in colour with white and pink spots. Leatherbacks are easily recognisable by the seven narrow ridges running the length of the carapace, and by their particularly large front flippers. Females also have a characteristic 'pink spot' on the top of their heads (6).