Green Sea Turtle
The Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) is one of the many species of turtles that inhabits the vast oceans. The green turtle is named for the greenish color of it's fat found under its shell. It is a large, heavy reptile, usually about 0.7-1.0 m in shell length and about 90-140 kg in weight. The maximum length and weight are about 1.2 m and 375 kg respectively. (1) The green turtles upper shell is smooth and wide, the animal is brown, but when the light from the sun hits it, the green color from the fat is visible. The green turtle is found in warm, coastal waters around the world. (2) Sea turtles, in adaptation to an aquatic life, have limbs modified into flippers for efficient swimming. It feeds mainly on marine grasses. Most female sea turtles leave the water only when it is breeding season because the female needs to dig a nest on the land and deposit her eggs. But an unusual characteristic of the green turtle is that it will often emerge onto land to enjoy the sun. (2) The green turtle is classified as follows:
The green sea turtle is a large, remarkable creature of the sea. They are found all over the world. Their diet is varied, enabling them to travel anywhere in the sea. The egg laying process of the female is meticulous and time consuming; the hatchlings are born on land and run to the crest of the sea to begin their lives. The turtle has many predators from the bird that will attack the eggs to the larger squid that will eat the small turtle in the sea. And then there is the man, the green turtles largest preditor, which will hunt the turtle, eat the turtle and kill it with the pollution thrown into the sea. The incubation period for the green turtle is between 54-63 days. (2) Many experiments have shown that the temperature at which the nest is incubated at determines the sex of the turtle. Temperatures minutely above the constant temperature for any given moment of time will produce female and then the temperature below the constant temperature threshold will produce males. (2) When the turtle hatches, because it is so high on the beach, and the hatchling is so small it is unable to see the ocean. Yet the turtle is able to detect the direction of the beach and moves toward the ocean in either day or night. (3) Encyclopedia Britannica. (2000). "Green Turtle". http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/1/0,5716,68181+1+66460,00.html?query=green%20turtle October 10, 2000 Unfortunately not just the meat has been sought after by man but the beauty of the shell as an ornament has been coveted as well. Fortunately plastic replications can be made and sold to those that just can't live without them.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2024
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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