Atlantic ridged turtle
Atlantic ridged turtle | ||||||||||||
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Atlantic ridged turtle |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Lepidochelys kempii | ||||||||||||
Garman , 1880 |
The Atlantic ridged turtle or Caribbean ridged turtle ( Lepidochelys kempii ) belongs to the family of sea turtles . Their genus is the smallest and rarest, and it is more threatened than the other sea turtles. The Caribbean ridged turtle lives exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern United States in shallow coastal waters. Only the females come ashore to lay their eggs.
Build and special features
The carapace of the Atlantic hybrid turtle is rarely longer than 76 cm. Their average weight is 30 to 45 kg. The skin, back and belly armor are gray in color, but the color can change with age. The belly armor, neck, and underside of the shoulders may then turn yellow, while the back armor may turn olive green. As with the other sea turtles, the shell is oval, flattened and covered with horn scales. The sea turtles no longer have the ability to hide their heads in their shell, so they have to actively defend themselves. The Atlantic hybrid turtle snaps around wildly until it is completely exhausted.
Hiking trails and nesting behavior
The migratory behavior of the Atlantic hybrid turtle differs from that of the other sea turtles, as it is almost exclusively in the Caribbean. It also only nests on a remote beach near Rancho Nuevo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas . In the period from April to June, the females lay eggs a total of three times. Nevertheless, the Atlantic horse turtle is critically endangered. Mexican coyotes and other wild animals will eat the eggs. Furthermore, hunting and fishing endanger the animals, while plastic waste in the oceans, which the turtles cannot distinguish from actual food, is also deadly.
The diet of the Atlantic ridged turtle consists mainly of crabs, crabs, clams, lobsters, jellyfish and snails.
Web links
- http://www.schildkroetennet.de/html/karibische_bastardschildkroete.html
- http://vorwald-hp.de/aga/e-meeresschildkr.html
- Lepidochelys kempii in The Reptile Database
- Lepidochelys kempii inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: Marine Turtle Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved October 8, 2013.