Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758)
Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761) – Accepted by WoRMS
Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Infraphylum) > Tetrapoda (Megaclass) > Reptilia (Superclass) > Testudines (Order) > Cryptodira (Suborder) > Chelonioidea (Superfamily) > Dermochelyidae (Family) > Dermochelys (Genus) > Dermochelys coriacea (Species)
Other names:
Vernacular names:
- Tamil: Loggerhead kadal aamai
- Telugu: samudrapu tabelu / palakala tabelu
- Odiya: Mund Kainch
- Bengali: Mathar kachchhap
- Malayalam: Loggerhead Kadalaama
- Kannada: Guru Tale aame
- Marathi: Loggerhead Kasav
- Gujarathi: mota matha valo dariyayi kachbo
- Hindi: Logger kachhua
Identifying characters
- Adult and subadult have reddish-brown carapace and dull brown to yellowish plastron
- Carapace is thick and bony and covered with non-imbricated horny scutes, five pairs of costal scutes, 11 or 12 pairs of marginals and five vertebrae
- They carry encrusting organisms like barnacles and distinguished by strong jaws and large heads
IUCN Red List Category and Criteria
Vulnerable A2b ver 3.1
Date Assessed 23 August 2015, Year Published 2017
Movement patterns: Fully Migrant
Geographical range
NATIVE
Extant (resident)
Albania; Algeria; Angola; Anguilla; Argentina; Aruba; Australia; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belize; Bermuda; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Bonaire); Brazil; Cabo Verde; Cayman Islands; Chile; China; Colombia; Comoros; Costa Rica; Croatia; Cuba; Curaçao; Cyprus; Djibouti; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; Eritrea; Fiji; France; French Guiana; French Polynesia; Greece; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Madagascar; Malaysia; Malta; Mauritius; Mexico; Montenegro; Montserrat; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Niue; Oman; Pakistan; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Qatar; Saint Barthélemy; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Slovenia; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Africa; Spain (Canary Is.); Sri Lanka; Suriname; Syrian Arab Republic; Tanzania, United Republic of; Tokelau; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Turks and Caicos Islands; United Arab Emirates; United States; Uruguay; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Yemen
Size: 90 cm to 1 m
Weight: 70 to 85 kg
Habitat: Inhabit shallow waters over the continental shelf
Food: Carnivorous in nature, Feeds on Molluscs like Giant clams and conches, Crustaceans like crabs and lobsters
Breeding season: January to June
Nesting intensity: 3 to 5 times/season
Average Clutch size: 40 to 150 eggs
Maximum Clutch size observed: 70 to 190 eggs
Egg size: Spherical and about 6 cm in diameter
Survival rate: Highest survival rate among other sea turtle species
Problem: Plastic bags
Natural Predators: Shorebirds and mongooses, genets, coyotes, dogs, coatis, raccoons, monitor lizards, ghost crabs ranging from little plovers to large gulls in shore. sharks, requiem, cephalopods and various large fish in seas and ocean
Common threats affecting sea turtle population
- Habitat degradation and loss
- Wildlife trade
- Collection of meat and eggs for consumption
- Climate change
- Accidental capture
- Water pollution
References
Tsang, E. & Milicich, M. (1999) Study on the suitability of South Lamma to be established as marine park. Final report. Submitted to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, The Hong Kong SAR Government.
Katona, S. K.; Rough, V.; Richardson, D. J. (1983). A field guide to the whales, porpoises and seals of the Gulf of Maine and eastern Canada, Cape Cod to Newfoundland. Charles Scribner’s Sons. New York. 1-255
King, C.M.; Roberts, C.D.; Bell, B.D.; Fordyce, R.E.; Nicoll, R.S.; Worthy, T.H.; Paulin, C.D.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Keyes, I.W.; Baker, A.N.; Stewart, A.L.; Hiller, N.; McDowall, R.M.; Holdaway, R.N.; McPhee, R.P.; Schwarzhans, W.W.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Rust, S.; Macadie, I. (2009). Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. pp. 431-554
Zug, G. R. 2009. Reptiles (Vertebrata: Reptilia) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1317–1320 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
