Nudibranch of the week!!!
Sea birds and marine reptiles
Marine Reptiles
• 7000 living species
• Poikilotherms
• Ectotherms
• First appeared more than 3MYA
Sea Turtles
• An ancient group of reptiles
• Bodies enclosed in a carapace
• Sea turtles cannot retract heads
into shell
• 9 species
• Must return to land to
reproduce
Green Turtles, Chelonia mydas
• Live primarily in warm waters
• Shells grow 1m in length
• Feed on seagrasses and
seaweeds
• Lack teeth, have strong jaws
Leatherback
Dermochelys coriacea
• Largest sea turtle
• May attain a length of 7ft and
weigh 1200lb
• Have a series of small bones
buried in dark skin
• An open water, deep diving
species
• Diet consists of jellyfish
• Endangered
Sea Turtle Reproduction
• All sea turtles must return to land
to reproduce
• Lay eggs on remote sandy beaches
• DNA of turtles breeding in one area
differs from DNA of turtles
breeding in another area
• Females only venture at hight to
lay eggs
• Incubation period is about 60 days
• Hatchlings are very vulnerable
Sea Snakes
• 55 species
• Found in the Indian and Pacific
Oceans
• Most are 3-4 feet
• Ovoviviparous
• Carnivores
• Most common of all venomous
snakes
• Rarely aggressive
Other Marine Reptiles
• Saltwater crocodile
• Inhabits mangrove swamps in
Eastern Indian Ocean, Australia,
Western Pacific islands
• Most common on coast
• Record of one being 33ft, but on
average are 20ft.
• Most aggressive of all marine
animals
• Marine iguana
• Galapagos Islands
• Spends most of its time basing in
large groups of rocks
• Eats seaweeds
• Can dive up to 33feet
Seabirds
• Seabirds have significant advantages
over reptiles
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Ability to fly
homeotherms
Eddotherms
Water proof feathers
Nest on land
Breed in large colonies
Distributed pole to pole
9700 species
Need a lot of food to supply energy to
maintain their body temperatures
Penguins
• Flightless birds
• Bones are denser than any other
bird to make diving easier
• 18 species
• All in live in the southern
hemisphere
Where Penguins Live
Tubenoses
• A large group of seabirds with
distinctive tube like nostrils and
heavy beaks that are curved
• They have salt glands to get rid
of excess salt
• Skilled fliers
• Scavangers
• Many breed in the area of
Anarctica
• Faithful relationships
Pelicans and Related Birds
• Webbing between all four toes
• Pelicans have a unique pouch
below their beaks
• Nest in large colonies
• Deposits of guano are mined for
fertilizer
• Build messy nests of twigs and
whatever else they can find
Gulls and Related Birds
• Largest variety of sea birds
• Will eat just about anything
• The Arctic tern wanders 10000
miles during the year
• Puffins and razorbills are also
related
Shorebirds
• Wading birds that do not have
webbed feet
• Many live inland
• Common in estuaries and
marshes
• Common examples
• Plovers
• sandpipers