Caribbean Dream Sea Turtle Watercolor

by Deborah League

Title

Caribbean Dream Sea Turtle Watercolor

Artist

Deborah League

Medium

Painting - Watercolor On 140 Lb. Paper

Description

A sea turtle appears serene as it swims through aqua colored caribbean water above a sandy bottom. This painting evokes remembrances of vacations past and to come, of times of relaxation and rest, soft breezes and warm salt water swims. For me specifically, I remember swimming with my daughter in the ocean off Maui near Black Rock. There was a sea turtle that would visit every day and swim among the visitors. Watercolor on paper. Painted in landscape orientation by Deborah League.

Sea turtles, sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles. There are seven existing species of sea turtles; green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, olive Ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, Flatback sea turtle, and leatherback sea turtle Most of a sea turtle's body is protected by its shell. The shell is made up of smaller plates called scutes. Unlike the six other species of sea turtles, the leatherback is the only sea turtle that instead of a hard shell has a leathery skin covering a mosaic of bony plates. In general, sea turtles have a more tapered body than their terrestrial or freshwater counterparts. The tapering occurs at both ends and reduces volume. As a result, sea turtles can’t retract their head and limbs into their shells for protection. But the more streamlined body reduces drag in the water and allows sea turtles to swim more easily and swiftly.

During the first three to five years of life, sea turtles spend most of their time floating in seaweed mats where they find shelter and food. Once the sea turtle has reached adulthood it moves closer to the shore. Females will come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches during the nesting season. After mating at sea, adult female sea turtles return to land to lay their eggs. The mature nesting female drags herself onto the beach at night and finds suitable sand in which to create a nest. Using her hind flippers, she digs a circular hole. After the hole is dug, the female then fills the nest with her clutch of soft-shelled eggs. Depending on the species, a typical clutch may contain 50–350 eggs. After laying, she re-fills the nest with sand. The whole process takes 30 to 60 minutes. She then returns to the ocean, leaving the eggs untended.

Sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, meaning the developing baby sea turtle's sex depends on the temperature it is exposed to. Warmer temperatures produce female hatchlings, while cooler temperatures produce male hatchlings. The eggs will incubate for 50–60 days. The eggs in one nest hatch together over a short period of time. The baby sea turtles break free of the egg shell, dig through the sand, and crawl into the sea. Most species of sea turtles hatch at night.

Uploaded

July 22nd, 2019

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