Barrier reef turtle
| Barrier reef turtle | ||||||||||||
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Barrier reef turtle ( Natator depressus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Natator | ||||||||||||
| McCulloch , 1908 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Natator depressus | ||||||||||||
| ( Garman , 1880) |
The barrier reef turtle ( Natator depressus ) is a sea turtle native to Australia. This species was regarded as an Australian variety of the common green turtle until the 1960s and was accordingly also referred to as the Australian green turtle . Since it was recognized as a separate species, it has been the only ( monotypical ) species of the genus Natator .
features
The shell of the barrier reef turtle is olive to gray in basic color, but in adult animals the horn plates of the dorsal armor are covered by a thick, fleshy skin, the edge shields are arched. The oval carapace is 90 to 95 centimeters long. The plastron is cream-colored. The body weight of the barrier reef turtle is a maximum of 140 kilograms. The frontal forehead is covered by a single pair of horn shields, which distinguishes them from other sea turtles.
Breeding behavior
The clutches of the barrier reef turtle differ significantly from those of other sea turtles, because the eggs are larger and with an average of 54 eggs fewer than in other species. During the breeding season, the females produce one to four clutches every 16–17 days, but only every two to three years. Young barrier reef turtles wear gray back armor with black contours between the horn shields, the plastron and the edges of the armor are white. They are larger than other sea turtles.
distribution
The barrier reef turtle inhabits the northern coastal waters of Australia , between the Kimberley Islands to the Torres Strait , they are less common in the Great Barrier Reef . The most important breeding area of the barrier reef turtle is Crab Island near the Cape York Peninsula .
The well-known breeding areas on the north bank of Australia and the main distribution area of the Torres Strait were for most of the Pleistocene up to about 12,000 years ago inland far separated from the sea (part of the shelf area, called Sahul ).
food
They prefer to live in the shallow water zones, where they feed on various organisms such as brown algae , seaweed , invertebrates ( soft corals , jellyfish , molluscs , shrimps , sea cucumbers and other soft-skinned animals) and fish .
Danger
The barrier reef turtle was hunted for its meat and eggs in particular. However, since the nesting beaches are largely in secluded, sparsely populated areas, their eggs are only collected by Aborigines . The main enemies of the animals and the eggs are monitor lizards , dingoes and the foxes brought in by the Europeans . However, adult animals are also drowned by trawls.
The existence of the barrier reef turtles in Western Australia is considered endangered, but the IUCN Red List of IUCN considers the data situation as insufficient and does not see himself in prior to an assessment.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Colin Limpus: A Biological Review of Australian Marine Turtles. 5. Flatback turtle Natator depressus (Garman) . The State of Queensland. Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland 2007.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Andrew A Burbidge: Threatened animals of Western Australia . Department of Conservation and Land Management, 2004, ISBN 0-7307-5549-5 , pp. 110, 114.
- ^ Monash University: Sahul Time
- ↑ natator depressus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Red List Standards & Petitions Subcommittee, 1996. Accessed January 6, 2009 ..