Leatherback

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), is the largest of all living turtles and is the fourth-
heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys
and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles, its carapace is
covered by skin and oily flesh.
Only 3 individuals were found in Albanian coastline over 60 years, two of them just recently in 2016 and
2017. Leatherbacks feed mostly on jellyfish, and this might be the reason of the presence of such
oceanic turtle in a relatively shallow sea like Adriatic.
Leatherbacks are considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature.