Leatherback sea turtle

Leatherback sea turtle Temporal range: Holocene 0.012–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, United States Virgin Islands
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Chelonioidea
Family:	Dermochelyidae
Subfamily:	Dermochelyinae
Genus:	Dermochelys Blainville, 1816[3]
Species:	D. coriacea
Binomial name
Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761)[3]
Synonyms[4]
List of synonyms Testudo coriacea Vandellius, 1761 Testudo coriaceous Pennant, 1769 (ex errore) Testudo arcuata Catesby, 1771 Testudo lyra Lacépède, 1788 Testudo marina Wilhelm, 1794 Testudo tuberculata Pennant, 1801 Chelone coriacea Brongniart, 1805 Chelonia coriacea Oppel, 1811 Testudo lutaria Rafinesque, 1814 Dermochelys coriacea Blainville, 1816 Sphargis mercurialis Merrem, 1820 Coriudo coriacea Fleming, 1822 Scytina coriacea Wagler, 1828 Dermochelis atlantica LeSueur, 1829 (nomen nudum) Sphargis coriacea Gray, 1829 Sphargis tuberculata Gravenhorst, 1829 Dermatochelys coriacea Wagler, 1830 Chelyra coriacca Rafinesque, 1832 (ex errore) Dermatochelys porcata Wagler, 1833 Testudo coriacea marina Ranzano, 1834 Dermochelys atlantica Duméril & Bibron, 1835 Dermatochelys atlantica Fitzinger, 1835 Dermochelydis tuberculata Alessandrini, 1838 Sphargis coriacea var. schlegelii Garman, 1884 Dermatochaelis coriacea Oliveira, 1896 Sphargis angusta Philippi, 1899 Dermochelys schlegelii Stejneger, 1907 Dermatochelys angusta Quijada, 1916 Dermochelys coriacea coriacea Gruvel, 1926 Dendrochelys (Sphargis) coriacea Pierantoni, 1934 Dermochelys coriacea schlegeli Mertens, Müller & Rust, 1934 (ex errore) Chelyra coriacea Bourret, 1941 Seytina coriacea Bourret, 1941 Sphargis schlegelii Bourret, 1941 Dermochelys coriacea schlegelii Carr, 1952 Dermochelys coriacea schlegelli Caldwell, 1962 (ex errore) Dermochelys schlegeli Barker, 1964 Dermochelys coricea Das, 1985 (ex errore)

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle, leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in) and weights of 500 kilograms (1,100 lb).^[5][6][7] It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named.^[8] Leatherback turtles have a global range, although there are multiple distinct subpopulations. The species as a whole is considered vulnerable, and some of its subpopulations are critically endangered.