Sea Turtles Program

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Sea Turtles Program 2021 GRANT SLATE Sea Turtles Program NFWF CONTACTS Michelle Pico Program Director, Sea Turtles [email protected] 262-567-0601 PARTNERS ABOUT NFWF Chartered by Congress in 1984, Leatherback hatchling the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and OVERVIEW restores the nation’s fish, wildlife, The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plants and habitats. Working with announced eight sea turtle conservation grants totaling over $740,00 in funding for the federal, corporate and individual 2021 slate of projects. These awards generated over $770,000 in match from the grantees, partners, NFWF has funded more providing a total conservation impact of $1.5 million. than 5,000 organizations and generated a total conservation These grants support NFWF’s Sea Turtles Business Plan which lays out a strategy for impact of $6.1 billion. investments under the Sea Turtles program. The plan focuses on strategies that are critical to stabilizing recovery trajectories for these populations but are also relevant to regional Learn more at www.nfwf.org threats other populations are facing. NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS Key conservation strategies for this program include reducing sea turtle bycatch in focal 1133 15th Street, NW Suite 1000 maintaining capacity for population-scale conservation. Washington, D.C., 20005 fisheries, nesting beach habitat restoration, protection and management, and building and 202-857-0166 (continued) 2021 GRANT SLATE Hawksbill sea turtle hatchlings Engage Fishers to Reduce Eastern Pacific Leatherback Work With Fishermen at Priority Ports to Reduce Turtle Bycatch Near Nesting Beaches in Mexico Leatherback Sea Turtle Bycatch in Peru Grantee: Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias, AC Grant Amount: ......................................$239,997 Grant Amount: ........................................$77,294 Matching Funds: ....................................$240,000 MatchingGrantee: Areas Funds: Costeras ...................................... y Recursos Marinos $83,634 Total Project Amount: ...............................$479,997 Total Project Amount: ...............................$160,928 Identify and test collaborative solutions to reduce the Identify management approaches to bycatch reduction and proximity to their primary nesting beaches in Southern Mexico. Project will test LED lights on driftnets used in artisanal incidental capture of eastern Pacific leatherback turtles in recruit and train fishermen to reduce sea turtle mortality. gear.Project will reduce bycatch at two hotspots by working with promotefisheries inproper the ports turtle of handling the Ica region and release. and engage driftnet and local fishers and authorities to design and test modified fishing longline fishermen to increase sea turtle bycatch reporting and Reduce Impacts to Sea Turtles From Artisanal Fisheries Increase Nesting Beach Quality to Maximize Hatchling Along Pacific Costa Rica and Panama Output of Leatherback Turtles in Costa Rica Grantee: SUBMON Grant Amount: ......................................$110,457 Grant Amount: ........................................$70,000 Matching Funds: ....................................$110,540 MatchingGrantee: The Funds: Leatherback ...................................... Trust $75,000 Total Project Amount: ...............................$220,997 Total Project Amount: ...............................$145,000 seaImplement turtle mortality an official from training bycatch. program Project for will longline assess fishermen bycatch throughIncrease climatehatching mitigation and emergence strategies, success predation of leatherback and poaching sea ratesalong at the suspected Pacific coasts hotspot of Costa ports Rica and andestablish Panama a government to reduce reduction,turtles in Costa and by Rica. decreasing Project will light increase pollution. nesting beach quality and release techniques of captured sea turtles. recognized training program for fishermen in the best handling(continued) 2021 GRANT SLATE Hawksbill sea turtle Aid Hawksbill and Leatherback Turtle Population In-Water Surveys to Assess Juvenile Hawksbill Sea Turtles Recovery in Nicaragua Through Threat Reduction in Gorgona Natural National Park, Colombia Grantee: Fauna & Flora International Grantee: CIMAD Grant Amount: ........................................$95,175 Grant Amount: ........................................$17,939 Matching Funds: ......................................$95,176 Matching Funds: ......................................$30,010 Total Project Amount: ...............................$190,351 Total Project Amount: .................................$47,949 Provide a comprehensive conservation program for eastern ProjectReassess will the conduct hawksbill in-water sea turtle surveys aggregation to provide at Gorgonaan updated nestingPacific leatherback and hatching and success hawksbill at three sea turtlespriority in sites, Nicaragua. and National Park to evaluate potential changes in population size. contributeProject will to reduce regional bycatch monitoring in key foragingprograms. grounds, improve evaluate its importance as a foraging site to the population. baseline along this coastal area of the Colombian Pacific to Hawksbill Sea Turtle Conservation in Machalilla National Population Viability Analysis of Eastern Pacific Park and Surrounding Beaches in Ecuador Hawksbill Turtles Grantee: Equilibrio Azul Grantee: The Ocean Foundation Grant Amount: ........................................$35,999 Grant Amount: ........................................$93,947 Matching Funds: ......................................$43,800 Matching Funds: ......................................$94,000 Total Project Amount: .................................$79,799 Total Project Amount: ...............................$187,947 Protect primary nesting and foraging habitats for hawksbill survivalDevelop atthe priority first comprehensive nesting and foraging population sites viability and incorporate analysis turtles in and around Machalilla National Park in Ecuador. informationfor eastern Pacific on reproductive hawksbills. parameters Project will and estimate bycatch annual rates to SouthProject America. will protect and monitor the only known consistent formulate a population model that can evaluate conservation nesting beaches for the eastern Pacific hawksbill population in scenarios and validate population viability. .
Recommended publications
  • Background on Sea Turtles
    Background on Sea Turtles Five of the seven species of sea turtles call Virginia waters home between the months of April and November. All five species are listed on the U.S. List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants and classified as either “Threatened” or “Endangered”. It is estimated that anywhere between five and ten thousand sea turtles enter the Chesapeake Bay during the spring and summer months. Of these the most common visitor is the loggerhead followed by the Kemp’s ridley, leatherback and green. The least common of the five species is the hawksbill. The Loggerhead is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle often reaching weights of 1000 lbs. However, the ones typically sighted in Virginia’s waters range in size from 50 to 300 lbs. The diet of the loggerhead is extensive including jellies, sponges, bivalves, gastropods, squid and shrimp. While visiting the Bay waters the loggerhead dines almost exclusively on horseshoe crabs. Virginia is the northern most nesting grounds for the loggerhead. Because the temperature of the nest dictates the sex of the turtle it is often thought that the few nests found in Virginia are producing predominately male offspring. Once the male turtles enter the water they will never return to land in their lifetime. Loggerheads are listed as a “Threatened” species. The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is the second most frequent visitor in Virginia waters. It is the smallest of the species off Virginia’s coast reaching a maximum weight of just over 100 lbs. The specimens sited in Virginia are often less than 30 lbs.
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  • Turtles, All Marine Turtles, Have Been Documented Within the State’S Borders
    Turtle Only four species of turtles, all marine turtles, have been documented within the state’s borders. Terrestrial and freshwater aquatic species of turtles do not occur in Alaska. Marine turtles are occasional visitors to Alaska’s Gulf Coast waters and are considered a natural part of the state’s marine ecosystem. Between 1960 and 2007 there were 19 reports of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), the world’s largest turtle. There have been 15 reports of Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). The other two are extremely rare, there have been three reports of Olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) and two reports of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Currently, all four species are listed as threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Prior to 1993, Alaska marine turtle sightings were mostly of live leatherback sea turtles; since then most observations have been of green sea turtle carcasses. At present, it is not possible to determine if this change is related to changes in oceanographic conditions, perhaps as the result of global warming, or to changes in the overall population size and distribution of these species. General description: Marine turtles are large, tropical/subtropical, thoroughly aquatic reptiles whose forelimbs or flippers are specially modified for swimming and are considerably larger than their hind limbs. Movements on land are awkward. Except for occasional basking by both sexes and egg-laying by females, turtles rarely come ashore. Turtles are among the longest-lived vertebrates. Although their age is often exaggerated, they probably live 50 to 100 years. Of the five recognized species of marine turtles, four (including the green sea turtle) belong to the family Cheloniidae.
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  • 'Camouflage' Their Nests but Avoid Them and Create a Decoy Trail
    Buried treasure—marine turtles do not ‘disguise’ or royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos ‘camouflage’ their nests but avoid them and create a Research Cite this article: Burns TJ, Thomson RR, McLaren decoy trail RA, Rawlinson J, McMillan E, Davidson H, Kennedy — MW. 2020 Buried treasure marine turtles do not † ‘disguise’ or ‘camouflage’ their nests but avoid Thomas J. Burns , Rory R. Thomson, Rosemary them and create a decoy trail. R. Soc. Open Sci. 7: 200327. A. McLaren, Jack Rawlinson, Euan McMillan, http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200327 Hannah Davidson and Malcolm W. Kennedy Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, and School of Life Sciences, Graham Kerr Building, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Received: 27 February 2020 University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK Accepted: 6 April 2020 TJB, 0000-0003-0408-8014; MWK, 0000-0002-0970-5264 After laying their eggs and refilling the egg chamber, sea Subject Category: turtles scatter sand extensively around the nest site. This is presumed to camouflage the nest, or optimize local conditions Organismal and Evolutionary Biology for egg development, but a consensus on its function is Subject Areas: lacking. We quantified activity and mapped the movements of hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and leatherback (Dermochelys behaviour coriacea) turtles during sand-scattering. For leatherbacks, we also recorded activity at each sand-scattering position. Keywords: For hawksbills, we recorded breathing rates during nesting as hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, leatherback an indicator of metabolic investment and compared with turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, nesting behaviour published values for leatherbacks. Temporal and inferred metabolic investment in sand-scattering was substantial for both species.
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  • This Month, the Year of the Turtle Extends Its Hand to You, the Reader
    Get involved in a citizen science program in your neighborhood, community, or around the world! Citizen science programs place people of all backgrounds and ages in partnerships with organizations and scientists to collect important biological data. There are many great programs focused on turtles available to the public. Below we highlight citizen science programs from North America and around the world with which you can become involved. We thank everyone who has contributed information on their citizen science programs to the Year of the Turtle thus far. We also greatly thank Dr. James Gibbs’ Herpetology course at SUNY-ESF, especially students Daren Card, Tim Dorr, Eric Stone, and Selena Jattan, for their contributions to our growing list of citizen science programs. Are you involved with a turtle citizen science program or have information on a specific project that you would like to share? Please send information on your citizen science programs to [email protected] and make sure your project helps us get more citizens involved in turtle science! Archelon, Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece This volunteer experience takes place on the islands of Zakynthos, Crete, and the peninsula of Peloponnesus, Greece. Volunteers work with the Management Agency of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos (NMPZ), the first National Marine Park for sea turtles in the Mediterranean. Their mission is to “implement protection measures for the preservation of the sea turtles.” Volunteers assist in protecting nests from predation and implementing a management plan for nesting areas. Volunteers also have the opportunity to assist in the treatment of rescued sea turtles that may have been caught in fishing gear or help with public awareness at the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre.
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  • The Latest Record of the Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea
    16 Coll. and Res. (2003) 16: 13-16 Coll. and Res. (2003) 16: 17-26 17 claw ending as knob; empodium divided, 5 rayed. without a short line on each side, admedian lines The Latest Record of the Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys with a semicircular line extending to lateral sides, Opisthosoma : dorsum with median ridge shorter and the 5-rayed empodium. coriacea) from Eastern Taiwan than submedian ridges, dorsally with about 51 rings, ventrally with about 53 microtuberculate Chun-Hsiang Chang1,2*, Chern-Mei Jang3, and Yen-Nien Cheng2 REFERENCES rings; 1st 3 dorsal annuli 9 long; lateral setae (c2) 10 long, Lt-Lt 44 apart, Lt\Vt1 38, Lt-Vt1 25; 1st 1Department of Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK Keifer, H.H. 1977. Eriophyid studies C-13. ARS- ventral setae (d) 17 long, Vt1-Vt1 19 apart, 2Department of Geology, National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, Taiwan 404 R.O.C. USDA, Washington, DC. 24pp. Vt1\Vt2 28, Vt1-Vt2 25; 2nd ventral setae (e) 17 3 Keifer, H.H. 1978. Eriophyid studies C-15. ARS- Department of Collection Management, National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung Taiwan 404 long, Vt2-Vt2 10 apart, Vt2\Vt3 40, Vt2-Vt3 38; USDA, Washington, DC. 24pp. R.O.C. 3rd ventral setae (f) 14 long, Vt3-Vt3 16 apart; Huang, K.W. 1999. The species and geographic accessory setae (h1) present. variation of eriophyoid mites on Yushania Coverflap: 19 wide, 12 long, with about 9 niitakayamensis of Taiwan. Proc. Symp. In (Received June 30, 2003; Accepted September 16, 2003) longitudinal ridges, genital setae (3a) 6 long, Gt- Insect Systematics and Evolution.
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  • Morphological Variation in Leatherback (Dermochelys Coriacea) Hatchlings at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, US Virgin Islands
    Vol. 41: 361–372, 2020 ENDANGERED SPECIES RESEARCH Published April 9 https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01030 Endang Species Res OPENPEN ACCESSCCESS Morphological variation in leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) hatchlings at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, US Virgin Islands Shreya M. Banerjee1,6,*, Amy Frey2, Carolyn M. Kurle3, Justin R. Perrault4,7, Kelly R. Stewart5 1Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA, ORCID: 0000-0003-1210-2162 2Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA 3Division of Biological Sciences, Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution Section, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA, ORCID: 0000-0003-1121-9924 4Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA 5The Ocean Foundation, Washington, DC 20036, USA, ORCID: 0000-0002-8673-5192 6Present address: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA 7Present address: Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, FL 33408, USA, ORCID: 0000-0002-5046-6701 ABSTRACT: Understanding species’ mating systems provides important information about their ecology, life history, and behavior. Direct observations of mating behaviors can be challenging, but molecular techniques can reveal information about mating systems and paternal identity in difficult-to-observe species such as sea turtles. Genetic markers can be used to assess the pater- nity of a clutch and to assign hatchlings to a father. Leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea sometimes mate with multiple individuals, resulting in clutches with mixed paternity; however, the effects of multiple paternity on hatchling quality are unclear.
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  • Download Book (PDF)
    HANDBOOK INDIAN TESTUDINES HANDBOOK INDIAN TESTUDINES B. K. TIKADER Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta R. C. SHARMA Desert Regional Station, Zoological Survey of India, Jodhpur Edited by the Director ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, CALCUTTA © Government of India, 1985 Published: November, 1985 Price: Indian Rs. 150/00 Foreign : £ 20/00 $ 30/00 Printed at The Radiant Process Private Limited, Calcutta, India and Published by the Director, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta FOREWORD One of the objectives of Zoological Survey of India is to provide comprehensive systematic accounts on various groups of the Indian fauna. To achieve this objective, the Zoological Survey of India undertakes faunistic survey programmes and publishes the results in the form of research papers and reports and under the series "Fauna of India", "The Handbooks" and "Technical Monographs" The present contribution on the Turtles and Tortoises is the sixth in the series of "Handbooks" This is a very primitive group of animals which have a role in the conservation of Nature and are an important protein source. While studies on this group of animals began at the turn of this century, intensive studies were taken up only recently. The present "Handbook" gives a comprehensive taxonomic account of all the marine, freshwater and land turtles and tortoises of India, along with their phylogeny, distribution and keys for easy identification. It includes other information, wherever known, about their biology, ecology, conservation and captive breeding. A total of 32 species and subspecies distributed over sixteen genera and five families are dealt with here. I congratulate the authors for undertaking this work which I am sure will prove useful to students and researchers in the field of Herpetology both in India and abroad.
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  • Turtle Tracks Miami-Dade County Marine Extension Service
    Turtle Tracks Miami-Dade County Marine Extension Service Florida Sea Grant Program DISTURBING A SEA TURTLE NEST IS A VIOLATION 4 OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS. 2 TURTLE TRACKS What To Do If You See A Turtle 1 3 SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY If you observe an adult sea turtle or hatchling sea turtles on the beach, please adhere to the following rules and guidelines: 1. It is normal for sea turtles to be crawling on the beach on summer nights. DO NOT report normal crawling or nesting (digging or laying eggs) to the Florida Marine Patrol unless the turtle is in a dangerous situation or has wandered off the beach. 1. Leatherback (on a road, in parking lot, etc.) 2. Stay away from crawling or nesting sea turtles. Although the 2. Kemp’s Ridley urge to observe closely will be great, please resist. Nesting is a 3. Green critical stage in the sea turtle’s life cycle. Please leave them 4. Loggerhead undisturbed. U.S. GOVERNMENTPRINTINGOFFICE: 1999-557-736 3. DO REPORT all stranded (dead or injured) turtles to the This information is a cooperative effort on behalf of the following organizations to Florida Marine Patrol. help residents of Miami-Dade County learn about sea turtle conservation efforts in 4. NEVER handle hatchling sea turtles. If you observe hatchlings this coastal region of the state. wandering away from the ocean or on the beach, call: NATIONAL Florida Marine Pat r ol 1-800- DIAL-FMP (3425-367) SAVE THE SEATURTLE FOUNDATION MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION PROGRAM 4419 West Tradewinds Avenue "To Protect Endangered or Threatened Marine Turtles for Fort Lauderdale, Floirda 33308 Future Generations" Phone: 954-351-9333 efore 1980, there was no documented sea Fax: 954-351-5530 Toll Free: 877-Turtle3 turtle activity in Mia m i - D ade County, due B mainly to the lack of an adequate beach-nesting Information has been drawn from “Sea Turtle Conservation Program“, a publication of the Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protection, habitat.
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  • The Effect of Invertebrate Infestation and Its Correlation with Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) Nest Success in Laganas Bay, Zakynthos, Greece
    The effect of invertebrate infestation and its correlation with loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nest success in Laganas Bay, Zakynthos, Greece Adam J. Andrews1, Andrew C. Smith1, ALan F. Rees2 & Dimitris Margaritoulis2 1Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK (E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]); 2ARCHELON, Solomou 57, GR104-32 Athens, Greece (E-mail:[email protected], [email protected]) Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests are vulnerable to relative threat of this source of predation of sea turtle eggs (Bolton predators and scavengers, including invertebrates (Paris et al. 2002). et al. 2008). Dipteran larvae (Phoridae and Sarcophagidae) have been found to At the rookery level, infestation may be high, with reports of infest loggerhead and green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests both 90% (Lopes 1982) and 84.6% (Hall & Parmenter 2006) of nests in northern Cyprus (Broderick & Hancock 1997; McGowan et al. being infested. However, at nest level, infestation is typically much 2001a), and Australia (Hall & Parmenter 2006), green sea turtle lower, e.g., 10.6% (Broderick & Hancock 1997), 0.8% (McGowan nests in Costa Rica and Mexico (Fowler 1979; Lopes 1982), as well et al. 2001a) and 3.6% (Katılmış et al. 2006) of eggs within a nest as hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) (Bjorndal et al. 1985) and being infested. In terms of nest success, Gautreau (2007) noted that leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) nests in Costa Rica it was not significantly lower for infested leatherback nests in Costa (Gautreau 2007). In the Mediterranean, coleopteran larvae were Rica, as did Bolton et al. (2008) for spiny softshell turtles (Apalone found to infest loggerhead nests in Turkey (Baran & Türkozan 1996) spinifera) in Canada.
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  • Congenital Malformations in Sea Turtles: Puzzling Interplay Between Genes and Environment
    animals Review Congenital Malformations in Sea Turtles: Puzzling Interplay between Genes and Environment Rodolfo Martín-del-Campo 1, María Fernanda Calderón-Campuzano 2, Isaías Rojas-Lleonart 3, Raquel Briseño-Dueñas 2,4 and Alejandra García-Gasca 5,* 1 Department of Oral Health Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada; [email protected] 2 Marine Turtle Programme, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología-UNAM-FONATUR, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82040, Mexico; [email protected] (M.F.C.-C.); [email protected] (R.B.-D.) 3 Universidad Central “Martha Abreu” de las Villas (IRL), CUM Remedios, Villa Clara 52700, Cuba; [email protected] 4 Banco de Información sobre Tortugas Marinas (BITMAR), Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología-UNAM, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82040, Mexico 5 Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82112, Mexico * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +52-669-989-8700 Simple Summary: Congenital malformations can lead to embryonic mortality in many species, and sea turtles are no exception. Genetic and/or environmental alterations occur during early develop- ment in the embryo, and may produce aberrant phenotypes, many of which are incompatible with life. Causes of malformations are multifactorial; genetic factors may include mutations, chromosomal aberrations, and inbreeding effects, whereas non-genetic factors may include nutrition, hyperthermia, low moisture, radiation, and contamination. It is possible to monitor and control some of these Citation: Martín-del-Campo, R.; Calderón-Campuzano, M.F.; factors (such as temperature and humidity) in nesting beaches, and toxic compounds in feeding Rojas-Lleonart, I.; Briseño-Dueñas, R.; areas, which can be transferred to the embryo through their lipophilic properties.
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  • LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE (Dermochelys Coriacea) General Characteristics the Leatherback Is the Only Sea Turtle That Lacks a Hard Shell (Carapace)
    LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE (Dermochelys coriacea) General Characteristics The leatherback is the only sea turtle that lacks a hard shell (carapace). Their name is derived from the fact that their soft shell is composed of a thin layer of tough, rubbery skin, similar to leather which is strengthened by thousands of tiny bony plates. The leatherback lacks scutes and scales that are present only in the first few weeks of life. The skin is typically black with white or pale spots. Their streamlined, flexible carapace has seven longitudinal ridges (keels), while the plastron varies in color and has five ridges. Size The leatherback is the largest of all sea turtles - a female can weigh roughly 500 Kg (1100 lbs.). Their carapace measures between 130 and 175 cm (Aprox. 4-6 ft.), while their large head represents approximately 20% of the entire carapace length. They have powerful front flippers which lack claws. The largest leatherback reported was a male captured more than 15 years ago in Wales (Great Britain), weighing approximately two tons (1,000 kg / 2,200 lbs) and measuring 3.05 meters (slightly more than 10 ft.) from the tip of its beak to the end of the tail. Habitat The leatherback is the deepest diver of all sea turtles and exhibits the most extensive distribution. A typical dive lasts 15 minutes and rarely reaches depths of more than 200 meters (650 ft.), although dives deeper than 1,000 meters (3,300 ft.) have been reported. They are found world wide, primarily in pelagic (open ocean) waters of temperate and tropical oceans as well as in very cold sub-artic waters.
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  • References for Life History
    Literature Cited Adler, K. 1979. A brief history of herpetology in North America before 1900. Soc. Study Amphib. Rept., Herpetol. Cir. 8:1-40. 1989. Herpetologists of the past. In K. Adler (ed.). Contributions to the History of Herpetology, pp. 5-141. Soc. Study Amphib. Rept., Contrib. Herpetol. no. 5. Agassiz, L. 1857. Contributions to the Natural History of the United States of America. 2 Vols. Little, Brown and Co., Boston. 452 pp. Albers, P. H., L. Sileo, and B. M. Mulhern. 1986. Effects of environmental contaminants on snapping turtles of a tidal wetland. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol, 15:39-49. Aldridge, R. D. 1992. Oviductal anatomy and seasonal sperm storage in the southeastern crowned snake (Tantilla coronata). Copeia 1992:1103-1106. Aldridge, R. D., J. J. Greenshaw, and M. V. Plummer. 1990. The male reproductive cycle of the rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus). Amphibia-Reptilia 11:165-172. Aldridge, R. D., and R. D. Semlitsch. 1992a. Female reproductive biology of the southeastern crowned snake (Tantilla coronata). Amphibia-Reptilia 13:209-218. 1992b. Male reproductive biology of the southeastern crowned snake (Tantilla coronata). Amphibia-Reptilia 13:219-225. Alexander, M. M. 1943. Food habits of the snapping turtle in Connecticut. J. Wildl. Manag. 7:278-282. Allard, H. A. 1945. A color variant of the eastern worm snake. Copeia 1945:42. 1948. The eastern box turtle and its behavior. J. Tenn. Acad. Sci. 23:307-321. Allen, W. H. 1988. Biocultural restoration of a tropical forest. Bioscience 38:156-161. Anonymous. 1961. Albinism in southeastern snakes. Virginia Herpetol. Soc. Bull.
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