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Norss AND Ftplo Rsponrs 105 Acknowledgments We wish to thank Patrick T.F.H. Publications, 895 pp. The Alligator Snapping Turtle: Biology and Bergeron, Steven George, Chris Holt, and Steve Jensen for PnlrcHnnn, P.C.H. 1989. Conservation. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum, 104 pp. their help throughout this study. Jeffrey Lovich deserves SErcEL, R.A. 1980. Courtship and mating behavior of the dia- We thank Sherry Harrel, thanks for his helpful suggestions. mondback terrapin Mctlaclemys terrapin tequesta. J. Jan J. Hoover, and Anne-Marie Murphy for suggestions and Herpetol. 14:420-421 . for reviewing our manuscript. Special thanks goes to Tony Tnylon, E.H. 1933. Observations on the couftship of tuftles. Univ. Trichel and Toby Trichel for helping capture the turtles and Kansas Sci. Bull.2l:269-271 . Mark Farr for his help in making observations. Received: 2l August 1995. Acceptecl: 3 December 1995. Literature Cited 'lrclonittrt Conserwttittrt untl Bitiltt,qt', 1996. l(l ):105-108 O 1996 by Chelonian Research Foundaticrtt ALLEN, E.R., AND NEILL, W.T. 1950. The alligator snapping turlle Mqcrochelt,s temminckii in Florida. Ross Allen's Reptile Inst., Spec. Publ. 4: I - 15. Meat on the Move: BnreR, R.E., AND GtlltxcHAM, J.C. 1983. An analysis of courlship Diet of a Predatory Turtl e, Deirochelys b g i .Herpetologi ca behavi or in B I andi n g' s tuft le, Enn do ide a landin reticularia (Testudines : Emydidae) 39 166-173. BELS, V.L., AND CRnvR, Y.J.M. 1994. Quantitative analysis of the courtship and mating behavior in the loggerhead musk turtle Dnlp R. Jl.cKSoNr Sternotherus minor (Reptilia: Kinosternidae) with comments on couftship behavior in tufiles. Copeia 1994:676-684. I Florida Natural Areas Inventorr'''^', The Notare Conservonc)', BERny, J.R., AND SutNe, R. 1980. Sexual size dimorphism and sexual I0l8 Thomasville Road, Suite 200-C, selection in turtles (Order Testudines). Oecologia (Berl.) 44:185- l9l . Tallahassee, Florida 32303 usA IFax: 904-68] -93641 BootH, J., RNp PEIERS, J.A. 1972. Behavioral studies on the green turtle (Chelonia nn,clcls) in the sea. Anim. Behav. 20:808-812. The chicken turtle , Deirochelys reticularia, is a charac- Cox, W.A., Nownn,M.C., AND MnntoN, K.R. 1979. Observations on teristic but rarely abundant inhabitant of shallow, lentic in the musk turtle, Sternotlterus courtship and mating behavior waters in coastal lowlands of southeastern United States. ntinor. J. Herpetol. l4:200-204. Inadequate knowledge of its diet has led to widespread DRvrS, J.D.,, AND JncrcsoN, C.G., Jn. I 970. Copulatory behavior in the speculation that the species is broadly omnivorous (Carr, red-eared turtle, P s e u cl e rn), s s c r i p t u e I e g curs (Wied) . Herpetol ogi c a a few 26:238-240. 1952; Campbell, 1969; Ernst et al., 1994), although sug- DonrE, J.L. I 971 . Reproduction and growth in the alligator snapping authors (Jackson, 1978, 1988; Pritchard, l9l9) have tuftle, Mctcroclen'ty s tentntinckii (Troost). Copeia 191 l:645-658. gested a more strictly carnivorous diet. Very limited evi- EnNst, C.H., LovtcH, J.E.; AND Bnneoun, R.W. 1994. Turtles of the dence supporting the latter position is provided by Marchand United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institu- (1942), Carr (1952), and Mitchell (1994), who reported tion Press, 578 pp. glass shrimp, crayfish, tadpoles, a snail, a beetle, and only a nuo TrNrLe, D.W. 1971. Biology of the Reptilia. Vol. 7. GRrus, C.', trace of aquatic plants in chicken turtle natural diets. Ecology and Behavior. New York: Academic Press. Method.s. In conjunction with a study of the reprodllc- GRtHapE, R. 1987 . Maintenance, behavior, and reproduction of the - tive biology of the species (Jackson, 1988), I examined the alligator snapping turtle, Mac'roc'lemr-s temminckii at the Tulsa feces were collected frorn Zoological Park. Bull. Oklahoma Herpetol. Soc. 12(l-4):l-6. gut contents of 24 chicken turtles; The JncrcsoN, C.G., JR., Rttp DRvts, J.D. 1972. A quantitative study of the another that was retained alive for behavioral study. courtship di spl ay of the red-eared turtle, Ch n,s e rny s s c ripta el e gan s sample included five adult males ( 103- 137 mm plastron (Wied). Herpetologica 28:5 8-64. length tPLl , 1921a8 g) ,19 adult female s (147 -190 mm PL, KnnuEn, M., AND FRttz, U. 1989. Courlship of the turtle Pseudenl\:s 645-1410 g), and one subadult female (137 mm PL, a10 g) ne lsoni. J. Herpetol. 23: 84-86. collected from 197 4 to I 971; shells of 12 were deposited in 1941. Fall mating and courtship of the musk turtle. LnGLER, K.F. the Florida Museum of Natural History herpetology collec- Copeia 194I:268. rion (UF 31555, 4421044216, 4421844220, 4423 I ). All LEclER, J.M. 1955. Observations on the sexual behavior of captive but one of the turtles were collected on land, either in tuftles. Lloydia I 8:95-99. with nesting activity or with terrestrial wander- LovrcH, J.E., Gnnsrrcn, W.R., AND CoopEn, W.E., Jn. I 990. Female association participation in courtship behavior of the turtle (Trachen4's s. ing that presumably represented migration between bodies scripta). J. Herpetol. 24:422-424. of water; several specimens were road-kills. Most of the MnHvoun, I.Y. I 961 .Courtship behavior and sexual maturity in four turtles were from Alachua County ( 12) or nearby counties species of kinosternid tuftles. Copeia 1967:314-319. (Baker, Dixie, Levy, Putnam, and Marion) in northern Munpuy, J.8., AND LauonEAUX, W.E. 1918. Mating behavior in three peninsular Florida, where the subspecies D. r. chrysea and Australian chelid turtles (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae). D. r. reticularia intergrade. The sample also included one Herpetologica 34:398-405. specimen from the Florida panhandle (Wakulla County), PruvvEn' M.V. 1977 . Notes on the counship and mating behavior of from the Florida east coast (Brevard County), and two the softshell turtle, Trionrux rtrttticus (Reptilia, Testudines, two (Ware and Charlton counties). The Trionychidae). J. Herpetol. I l:90-92. from southern Georgia PnrrcHRRn, P.C.H. 1979. Encyclopedia of Tuftles. Neptune, NJ: entire alimentary tract of each animal was examined fresh 106 CuEr-oNraru CoNSERVATToN AND BtoLocv, Volume 2, Number I - 1996 within 24 hours of collection or refrigerated or frozen for Table 1. Gut contents of 25 Deirochelys reticulctriu mostly from northern peninsular Florida (see text for details). Frequency refers analysis within a few days or weeks. Most food items were to number of turtles containing the item. Table does not include first identified to family, then preserved in 40Vo isopropyl many insects too finely chopped to permit ready identification. alcohol for subsequent study. Taxa followed by an asterisk (*) are generally terrestrial though they include species found in close association with water. Lengths of the three major segments of the digestive tract (stomach, small intestine, and colon) were measured Taxon No. Individuals Frequency Deirochel;l's (seven females, for eight adult PL I4l-190 Arthropoda 94+ I 4 mm; one male, PL I l0 mm) that had been dissected for Malacostraca: Decapoda 7 4 reproductive information. For comparison, similar data were Palaemonidae: P al aenton ete s 3 I Cambaridae: Procantbarus sp. 5 4 series recorded from small of adult emydid turtles of three Insecta 53+ ll + pri mari ly herbivorou s, potenti al I y micro s ympatric fre shwa- Odonata l4 5 ter species: Pseudemys floridana peninsularis (three fe- Aeschnidae: Anuxo 5 3 Libellulidae: Libellulab I I males, PL269-332 mm; one mAle, PL 150 mm), P. nelsoni Hemiptera t2 3 (two females, PL 283-303 mm; one male, PL224 mm), and Belostomatidae : Lethoc e rus 3 2 Trachenrys s. scripta (one female, PL 183 mm; one male, PL Corixidae: cf. Hespe rocorixct 2 I Naucoridae: Pelocoris 3 2 the 154 mm). For analysis, I compared the relative length of Nepidae: Ranatra 5 2 digestive tract of each of the four species as a percentage of Orthoptera * 5 2 * plastron length. Gryllidae I I Tettigoniidae * 4 I To observe Deirochelys feeding behavior, I maintained Coleoptera 14+ 6+ one large adult female with as many as four adult males in a Curculionidae * 3 I 165 liter aquarium. Turtles were offered small amounts of a Dytiscidae 4 2 Elateridae * 2 I variety potential foods (only one at a of kind time) including Hydrophilidae 5 2 crayfish, insects, earthworrns? raw fish, and aquatic vegetation. Lepidoptera: cf. Noctuidaec* 7 2 Results Nearly half of the digestive tracts were Diptera: Stratiomyiidaeo I I Arachnida * 34+ 2 relatively empty, which may relate to the biased collection Plant matter unquantified 6 of reproductively active females during the cooler months of a the year (see Jackson, 1988). The guts from 8 of 12 gravrd larvae or nymphs b adult females as well as all 3 pre-gravid females (i.e., bearing ' all adults but one enlarged preovulatory follicles) were essentially devoid of food; the remaining 4 gravid females each contained only a species was as follows: De irochelys,,390Vo (range 320430, small number of prey items. In contrast, the guts of all4post- SD 38); Pse udenrys floridana,8507o (range 630-1030; SD reproductive females (March-June) were moderately full. 180); P. nelsoni, 920Vo (range 140-1120, SD 191); and All 5 of the males and the subadult female (collected late Trachemys scripta, J207o (range 580-860, SD 198). Only May - early October) contained several items each. the differences between Deirochelys and the other species Table I summarizes the identifiable food items found in were significant (t-tests, P < 0.05). the sample; the diet consists principally of aquatic insects In laboratory observations of feeding behavior, chicken and crustaceans (Malacostraca), with some representation turtles typically searched with extended necks until they of terrestrial arthropods.
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  • OLIVE RIDLEY SEA TURTLE (Lepidochelys Olivacea)

    OLIVE RIDLEY SEA TURTLE (Lepidochelys Olivacea)

    OLIVE RIDLEY SEA TURTLE (Lepidochelys olivacea) General Characteristics The name of the olive ridley originates from the olive color of the adult’s carapace. Its head is triangular in shape, measuring up to 13 cm (5.1 in.) wide, with two pairs of prefrontal scales. Their carapace is circular and flat with a uniquely high and variable number (six to nine pairs) of costal scutes, and ranges from olive green to dark grey in color. The plastron is cream colored and has a small and distinct pore close to the rear margin of each of the four inframarginal scutes. Its body is deeper than the Kemp’s Ridley (L. kempii), which is found primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and along the eastern coast of the USA. Size The olive ridley is one of the smallest sea turtles; the length of the carapaces is approximately 65 cm (2 ft.) and reaches up to 50 kg. (110 lbs.). Both the front and rear flippers have one, or sometimes two, claws. Habitat Olive ridleys are found throughout the tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and southern Atlantic Oceans. In the eastern Pacific they range from Mexico to Colombia and are sometimes found off the southwestern coast of the United States. Non-nesting individuals are often found in Isla de Margarita (Venezuela) and Trinidad & Tobago; however, they rarely go deeper into the Caribbean. They typically forage offshore in surface waters, primarily in bays and estuaries. They may dive to depths of 150 meters (500 ft.) to feed on bottom- dwelling crustaceans. Diet Their large and powerful jaws are adapted to their diet of mostly fish, mussels and crustaceans, particularly shrimp.
  • Olive Ridley Turtle)

    Olive Ridley Turtle)

    UWI The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago Ecology Lepidochelys olivacea (Olive Ridley Turtle) Family: Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles) Order: Testudines (Turtles and Tortoises) Class: Reptilia (Reptiles) Fig. 1. Olive ridley turtle, Lepidochelys olivacea. [http://www.nathab.com/central-america/mexico-sea-turtle-tour/, downloaded 9 March 2016] TRAITS. Lepidochelys olivacea or the olive ridley turtle is named due to the greenish coloration of its skin and carapace, and is one of the smallest sea turtles (Fig. 1). Mature turtles typically weigh around 30-50 kg and grow to be around 60-75cm in length (Eckert, 1999). The carapace or protective shell of Lepidochelys olivacea has a short but wide structure that has high vertebral projections in juvenile turtles, and is smooth with an elevated tectiform (roof-like) shape in adult turtles. The carapace is also known to have an inconstant amount of lateral scutes, ranging between six to ten pairs. In addition to this, eight pores are found on the scutes of the ventral surface of the shell (Marcovaldi, 1999). The head of Lepidochelys olivacea is relatively larger than most turtles, with an average width of 13cm, and has two pairs of prefrontal scales. Male olive ridleys can be distinguished from females by their long tails, relatively soft and concave plastron, as well as sturdy talons found on their anterior limbs (Wibbels et al., 1991). DISTRIBUTION. Olive ridleys are found only in warm waters such as the southern Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean (Fig. 2). There are a few records of Lepidochelys olivacea being found in areas of the western Atlantic Ocean such as off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname (Schulz, 1975).