Marine Reptiles!!

There are approximately 70 species of sea snakes living in our oceans. They account for 86% of marine reptile species alive today.

Other marine reptiles include:

• 7 species of sea turtles

• salt water crocodile

• marine iguana.

Sea Snakes• Sea snakes are cold blooded reptiles and are

found primarily in warm tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific. They are not found in the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea

• Adaptations include:

Swimming

Respiration

Salt excretion

Skin shedding

Yellow bellied sea snake

Sea krait

• Sea snakes are very venomous; one sea snake carries enough venom to kill three adult humans.

• The toxin of choice is a neurotoxin that shuts down your central nervous system.

• Sea snakes are not aggressive and have relatively small fangs (usually don’t penetrate a wetsuit).

Sea snakes bear their young on shore, and spend the remainder of their lives in the ocean looking for food, fish and eel.

Sea Turtles

• Sea turtles are large, air-breathing reptiles that inhabit tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world.

• Their shells consist of an upper part (carapace) and a lower section (plastron)

• Females must come ashore to lay their eggs in the sand; therefore, all sea turtles begin their lives as tiny hatchlings on land

Species

Saving Turtles!

Turtles are radio-tagged so that

we can follow them.

The more we can learn about

them, the better our efforts to

save them

Salt water crocodile

• Salt water crocodiles grow over 20 feet long, are often found in fresh water rivers and streams, and man is definitely on their diet.

• They remain motionless for hours waiting for prey. • They are cold blooded animals, so it is possible for them to eat

only one large meal that will last them an entire year. • Thermoregulating Behaviour to maintain body temperature at

30 – 32oC.• Often you will see a saltwater crocodile gaping (its mouth

open) and this enables the Crocodile to cool down

The temperature at which the egg is kept determines the sex of the baby crocodile ! If the egg is kept at 31.6 degrees Celsius it will be male. Hotter or colder it will be a female !

Marine iguana

• Herbivorous• May grow to a length of 4

feet or more • Found in the Galapagos

• They feed on algae growing on rocky outcrops, and also small crustacea.

• Their time is spent lazing on the rocks until optimum temperature is reached, then into the water for up to an hour to feed, only to get cold again, requiring a rapid heat exchange with the sun on the rocks again.