biologicalmarginalia: The Harlech Turtle, a 916 kg Leatherback…
The Harlech Turtle, a 916 kg Leatherback Seaturtle that washed up in Wales in 1988. Some sources (such as Bright) describe this as the “largest known leatherback”, but that’s because they didn’t pay very close attention to units. This turtle had a very impressive total dorsal curved length of 2.91 meters, but the curved carapace length was only 1.59 meters; straight carapace length is a much better measure, and Leatherbacks apparently average 1.32–1.78 m SCL, with a maximum of at least 1.98 or possibly even 2.43 meters, according to Ernst and Lovich. So just how much do the largest leatherbacks weight?!
Bright, M. (1989) There are Giants in the Sea.
Whoa.
Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/53538781253.
Tags: windandwater.
