Perhaps not surprisingly, the Leatherback is the most widely distributed of the sea turtles, occurring in both pelagic and coastal ocean waters around the globe. .
Besides its gigantic size, the Leatherback is easily identified. Unlike its close relatives, the Leatherback lacks a rigid, outer shell and instead has a smooth, leather-like skin in which are embedded thousands of tiny bones. This leathery suit has seven raised ridges, adding to the streamlined design of the Leatherback's body. This characteristic, combined with powerful, clawless limbs, makes it a formidable and swift swimmer. The mostly white plastron, which has five ridges similar to the seven on the carapace, breaks an otherwise even color pattern. The remainder of the Leatherback is a dark black-brown with a scattering of white and yellow markings. .
The Leatherback feeds on jellyfish, animals that are composed primarily of water. The Leatherback eat a lot of jellyfish. Young Leatherbacks may eat twice their weight in the watery creatures every day. These turtles have also been observed to eat squid and other marine creatures. In order to assist the consumption of jellyfish, the Leatherback has a specialized mouth, full of backward pointing spines that prevent their meals from flowing back into the sea. .
From March through August, the females gather along steeply sloping beaches leading into deep water. Common sites are along the coasts of Indonesia, New Guinea, Central America, the Guiana's and the Southern Pacific Coast of Mexico. It is very rare to see the Leatherback nest along Florida's shores. These conditions minimize the turtles" actual time on land, a necessity considering the massive bulk of the streamlined creatures. Both on their own and in large groups, the 70,000 to 115,000 remaining mother turtles drag their ponderous bulks to shore. .
Although less a commodity to turtle harvesters than other species, the Leatherback population has declined due to egg poaching and pollution.