Common Name/s: There are 7 living species of sea turtles (marine turtles); Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, Green, Flatback, Leatherback, Loggerhead and the highly endangered Kemp's Ridley turtle.

Scientific Name/s: Caretta caretta (Loggerhead), Chelonia mydas (Green), Dermochelys coriacea (Leatherback), Eretmochelys imbricata (Hawksbill), Lepidochelys kempii (Kemp's ridley), Lepidochelys olivacea (Olive ridley), Natator depressa (Flatback).

Range and Habitat: Sea turtles are found in every ocean on the planet but prefer to stay in coastal areas. They use tropical and sub-tropical beaches as nesting sites during reproduction. The populations of all seven species are distributed across the oceans, as they share the same migratory lifecycles.

Status: Critically Endangered

Sea turtles have lived on Earth since before the age of the dinosaurs, but today all species of this ancient animal are endangered. Many countries still allow the commercial exploitation of sea turtles for food, oil, leather, and jewelry. As food, turtles are sometimes kept alive while flesh is cut from their bodies in order that the meat stays fresh. Turtle oil is used for caulking boats or for medicinal purposes. Turtle skin can be turned into leather and is used for shoes and handbags, while its shell is used to make sunglasses, trinkets and jewelry. Sometimes the entire carcass is stuffed and sold as a souvenir or turned into novelty items such as musical instruments.