Imagine trying to survive in warm oceans around the world. For many animals, a habitat like this would be impossible. Yet the sea turtle, a reptile about 1 meter long for most kinds, thrives there, thanks to features that scientists call adaptations: traits that help a living thing survive in its environment.
Consider flippers shaped like paddles: this adaptation push it through the water. The word flippers refers to flat limbs used for swimming. Equally important is a smooth, streamlined shell, which helps water slide past as it swims. Without these traits, the sea turtle would struggle to last a single season.
As an omnivore, the sea turtle is an animal that eats both plants and animals; it depends on sea grass, jellyfish and crabs. Its behavior matters as much as its body: it swims thousands of kilometers but returns to the beach where it hatched to lay its own eggs. Behaviors like this are adaptations too, even though you cannot see them in a photograph.
The next generation faces the same challenges. Young sea turtles, called hatchlings, depend on their surroundings and on adult care. Hatchlings dig out of the sand at night and race toward the bright, open ocean.
Perhaps most remarkable of all: the temperature of the sand decides whether the hatchlings will be male or female. Facts like this remind us that every animal's body tells a story about the place it lives.