Question: What makes leatherback sea turtles different from other sea turtles?
Answer: Leatherback sea turtles are the largest and oldest sea turtle species, reaching up to 8 feet and 2,000 pounds. Unlike other turtles with hard, scuted shells, leatherbacks have a flexible, leathery skin covering a bony matrix, enabling record dives over 4,000 feet and cold-water tolerance through gigantothermy. They also have the widest global distribution of any sea turtle.
