What determines the gender of a baby sea turtle?
A baby sea turtle is known as a hatchling. After an adult female sea turtle nests or has laid her eggs, she returns to the sea, leaving her eggs to develop on their own. The developing hatchlings do not have sex chromosomes. Their gender is determined by the temperature of the sand they are found in.
There is a "pivotal" temperature which varies slightly among species, ranging between 28 and 29 degrees Celsius. If the temperature of the sand is above this temperature range, female turtles will result. If the sand is below this temperature range, male turtles will result.
~ Serena's Greenhouse
Sea turtle lays their eggs in the sand. The gender of the hatchlings are determined by the sand temperature where the eggs are incubated.
ReplyDeleteHi, Janus. Thanks for highlighting the error in the entry. Have edited the post.
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