Instructions
Look at the shell. The leatherback turtle's name comes from its shell, which is leathery and smooth and has seven ridges on it. The green turtle has a shell that is entirely smooth and has a greenish starburst pattern on it. When looking at a loggerhead turtle from above, the shell seems to have a heart shape. The hawksbill has four pairs of ridges along the outer lining of the shell that overlap, and the Kemp's ridley's shell is short, wide and circular.
Compare colors. Each turtle has its own specific coloring on the shell and skin. The loggerhead has a brownish-red shell with a yellow belly. The hawksbill's shell features bright blues, greens and yellows. The green turtle gets its name from its green shell. The leatherback turtle is black with some white spotting on it when fully grown; on land, the leatherback's skin turns pink from the blood pumping near the skin's surface. The Kemp's ridley's shell is a plain gray color.
Measure the size. Though not the best way to identify a sea turtle, size can help a little in the identification of each species. The leatherback turtle is the largest of all species that nest on Florida's beaches; it weighs up to 1,000 pounds when fully grown. Next in size is the green turtle, followed closely by a full-grown loggerhead turtle. The hawksbill and Kemp's ridley turtles are the smallest sea turtles in Florida, weighing just over 100 pounds.
Analyze the head. Each turtle has a unique head style, but the loggerhead turtle has the largest head for its body size. The loggerhead's mouth comes to a point creating a triangle shape for its head. The Kemp's ridley is similar to the loggerhead, but its head is not as pointed. The hawksbill gets its name from its bird-shaped head, and the green turtle has a small round head.
Look at the tracks. You can identify every sea turtle by the tracks they leave in the sand when they nest on the beaches. The green and leatherback turtles have similar left and right alternating flipper marks with a trail left down the center from the dragging of their bodies. Loggerhead tracks are smaller than leatherback and green tracks in that their right and left flippers alternate, but they do not have the center trail. Leatherback trails are the largest of all sea turtles that nest on the Florida beaches. The hawksbill's and Kemp's ridley's tracks are the smallest and rarest of tracks found in Florida.
How to Identify a Salt Water Turtle in Florida
Every year more than 50,000 sea turtles make their way up the sandy beaches of Florida just to lay their eggs during their nesting season. Each turtle can lay from 150 to 2,000 eggs at a time by burying them deep in the sand to protect the future hatchlings from predators. Sea turtle nesting season begins May 1 and continues through Oct. 1. During this time, five different types of sea turtles nest on the Florida beaches.