Flatback turtle
Natator depressus
- Scientific name
- Natator depressus
- Group
- Sea turtles
- Rarity
- Epic
- Where to see it
- Indo-Pacific & Red Sea
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Data deficient
Did you know?
The flatback turtle lives and nests only in Australian waters, giving it the smallest range of any sea turtle. Its shell, with raised edges and a softer texture than other sea turtles', is what gives the species its name.
What defines this group — Sea turtles
Reptiles that went back to the sea: they breathe air and return to lay eggs on the beach where they hatched.
- Lungs, not gills: they have to surface to breathe.
- The front limbs have become paddles, and the shell can no longer tuck them away.
- Females find their way back to their birth beach, sometimes across thousands of kilometres.
Other species in this group
- Green sea turtle
- Loggerhead turtle
- Hawksbill turtle
- Olive ridley turtle
- Leatherback turtle
- Kemp's ridley turtle