Bastard turtles
This article has been registered in the quality assurance biology for improvement due to formal or content-related deficiencies . This is done in order to bring the quality of the biology articles to an acceptable level. Please help improve this article! Articles that are not significantly improved can be deleted if necessary.
Read the more detailed information in the minimum requirements for biology articles .
| Bastard turtles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlantic ridged turtle ( Lepidochelys kempii ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lepidochelys | ||||||||||||
| Fitzinger , 1843 |
The ridged turtles are a genus of sea turtles (Cheloniidae) and come in two species: the real or olive ridged tortoise ( Lepidochelys olivacea ) and the Atlantic ridged tortoise ( Lepidochelys kempii ). The olive ridged turtle is the most common species of sea turtle, while the Atlantic ridged turtle is considered the rarest.
features
Hybrid turtles are the smallest representatives of the sea turtles with a body length of about 50 to 80 centimeters and a maximum weight of 30 to 50 kilograms. The two species are similar in appearance and behavior, but the basic color of the olive hybrid turtle is olive-green with also greenish drawing elements compared to the gray-green carapace of the Atlantic species. In both types the carapace is strongly arched and usually about as long as wide, in the olive ridged turtle it is higher and longer in shape than in the Atlantic ridged turtle. The underside of the shell, the plastron , of both types shows a yellowish-white tone.
Way of life
Like all sea turtles, the hybrid turtles also live in the salt water of the oceans. They occur mainly in coastal areas in the area of the continental shelf and are mainly found in open water, the pelagic . As carnivores, they mainly feed on swimming crustaceans and molluscs such as squids and other invertebrates such as jellyfish , sea urchins , sea squirts , bog animals and occasionally fish.
The hybrid turtles lay their eggs in the sand of suitable beach areas and leave the water for this purpose. The two species of ridged turtles are the only species in which massive landings on the breeding beaches can be observed. The selection of the time of day is also unique because, unlike all other species, they prefer the bright day, especially on very windy days.
distribution
The two species of the hybrid turtle differ very clearly in the extent of their distribution areas. While the olive ridged turtle can be found over other parts of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans along the coastal areas of North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia, the range of the Atlantic ridged turtle is very limited off the Mexican coast in the Atlantic Ocean limited.
Systematics
The scientific first description of the genus Lebidochelys comes from the German zoologist Leopold Fitzinger in his Systema reptiliae from the year 1843. 1953 ordered Charles Frédéric Girard 1829 as Chelonia olivacea of Johann Friedrich Eschscholtz described olive ridley sea turtle in this genus one. In 1880, the American zoologist Samuel Walton Garman described the Atlantic horse turtle as the second species of the genus.
The genus of the hybrid turtle currently contains two species:
The hybrid turtles got their names because they used to be considered hybrids between the green turtle and the loggerhead turtle .
Hazard and protection
Because of their meat and eggs, the hybrid turtles, like all other sea turtles, were hunted intensively and are now under international protection under the Washington Convention on Endangered Species .
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e N. J. Robinson, FV Paladino: Sea Turtles. Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, 2013; Pp. 9-10. doi : 10.1016 / b978-0-12-409548-9.04352-9
- ↑ a b Lepidochelys olivacea in The Reptile Database ; accessed on February 25, 2020.
- ↑ a b Lepidochelys kempii in The Reptile Database ; accessed on February 25, 2020.
