Sea turtles live in warm oceans.  They're part of the air breathing reptiles.  Reptiles are cold blooded and they have scaly skin.  Sea turtles lived since dinosaurs roamed the earth.  Millions of years have passed and sea turtles have been getting smaller and smaller. They are the oldest surviving creature on the earth.  Almost every sea turtle has a hard and bony shell for protection.  The top of the shell is called the carapace, and the bottom is called the plastron.  They are connected by bridges.  Scutes cover the carapace.  The sea turtle uses it's flippers like a paddle.  It is a powerful swimmer.  Some can swim up to 20 miles an hour.  The sea turtles back flippers are for stopping and turning.  Sometimes a sea turtle looks like it's crying but the tears is how they get rid of the sea salt in their eyes.  Sea turtles don't have teeth.  They tear their food and swallow it whole.  Sea turtles mate in warm sea water.  Sea turtles migrate to where they will nest.  Sometimes they travel to 1000 miles!  They do this every two to three years in the late spring and summer.