---
title: "Leatherback Sea Turtle"
description: "Dermochelys coriacea — Reptiles. The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle, leathery turtle or simply the luth, is a large species of sea turtle."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/leatherback-sea-turtle
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Leatherback Sea Turtle

> Dermochelys coriacea — Reptiles. The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle, leathery turtle or simply the luth, is a large species of sea turtle.

- Scientific name: *Dermochelys coriacea*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 2225
- Wikidata: [Q120043](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q120043)
- iNaturalist taxon: [39677](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/39677)

## Names

- en: Leatherback Sea Turtle
- de: Lederschildkröte
- es: Tortuga Laúd
- fr: Tortue Luth
- nl: Lederschildpad
- pt: Tartaruga-de-couro
- pl: Żółw skórzasty

## Countries with the most observations

TT (245), US (198), CR (176), GF (172), VE (166), MX (163), CA (46), PR (43), PA (33), AU (31), AR (25), BR (24)

## Summary

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle, leathery turtle or simply the luth, is a large species of sea turtle. The largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, it reaches lengths of up to 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in) and weights of 500 kilograms (1,100 lb). It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named. Leatherback turtles have…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leatherback_sea_turtle

## Photo

![Leatherback Sea Turtle](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/leatherback-sea-turtle/medium.jpg)

Photo: Joshua Smith · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107535721

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/leatherback-sea-turtle?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).