Their shells have five scutes running down the middle and four scutes on each side. Other distinct characteristics of the green turtle are their serrated beak on the lower jaws and two large scales located between the eyes. The turtle’s dietary preference differs from species to species; the leatherback sea turtle mainly eats jellyfish, whereas the hawksbill feeds mainly on sponges. The green sea turtle is the only sea turtle to be almost entirely herbivorous; in its adulthood it feeds on seagrasses and algae. If a sea turtle becomes entangled in a net or fishing line or caught on a hook and is unable to reach the surface, it is at risk of drowning. Even if rescued, a released turtle will often have a hook left behind in its jaw, throat, or stomach.

Diet

• Females leave breeding and nesting areas and migrate to foraging areas ranging from the Yucatán Peninsula to southern Florida to the north-central Gulf of Mexico.
• There is no area of the ocean that is not affected by the 335 million metric tons of plastic produced every year on Earth.
• These tumors can significantly affect their ability to swim and feed and can lead to death.
• Weighing in at roughly 100 pounds, Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are one of the smallest sea turtles swimming in the sea.
• The preferred sections of nesting beach are backed up by extensive swamps or large bodies of open water having seasonal narrow ocean connections.

It is also taking away their beaches that they lay their eggs on. Climate change also has an impact on the number of storms and the severity of them. Storms can wipe out the sea turtles nesting ground and take out the eggs that already laid. The rising level of water is also a way for the nesting grounds to disappear. Sea turtles maps and their nesting grounds getting destroyed is harmful to them. That is because with their maps being messed up and not being able to lay eggs where they usually do makes it hard for them to find a new place to nest. They usually stick to a schedule and the messing up of a schedule messes them up.

Kemp’s Ridley – The Conspriracy

Because the majority of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles nest in the western Gulf of Mexico, one natural disaster in the Rancho Nuevo area could severely impact the species. One of the first goals of the binational program was to form a secondary nesting colony at Padre Island National Seashore in South Texas. This site was chosen due to its long-term federal protection, undeveloped beaches, and because it is within the native nesting range of the species. Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) are the smallest and most vulnerable species of sea turtle in the world (1,2). They weigh only 100 pounds at most in adulthood and get up to 2 feet long (1,3).

7 Cut-Throat Kemp’s Ridley Ways That Never Fails

This means that they not only coexisted with dinosaurs for around 45 million years, but they also outlived them, surviving the mass extinction event that took place approximately 65 million years ago. Their usual behavior involves swimming about in search of food, and riding currents to migrate long distances. Some species can make impressively deep dives in search of food as well. Other types of tags include flipper tags and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. Flipper tags are external tags attached to a sea turtle’s flipper. They are generally made of metal or plastic and have an embossed number unique to the individual sea turtle. PIT tags are internal and when scanned, they transmit information stored in the individualized barcode, the equivalent of an animal’s individual fingerprint.

The top side of the shell is called the carapace and the bottom side is called the plastron. In all species except the leatherback, the shell is covered with a layer of horny plates called scutes. Scientists use scutes, their pattern and number, to identify the species of sea turtle. It is named not for the color of its shell, which is normally brown or olive depending on its habitat, but for the sea turtle greenish color of its skin. Hatchlings range from 1.5 to 3 inches (3.8 to 7.6 centimeters) in size, depending on the species, and emerge from the nest as a group.

Sea turtles, including Kemp’s ridley and green sea turtles, face numerous threats in the wild, such as entanglement in fishing gear, loss of nesting habitats, climate change, and marine debris, the aquarium said. Weighing in between 85 and 100 pounds, Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the only sea turtle species that primarily nest during the day. They will even nest in mass synchronized events called «arribadas.» Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program released two critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, named Dutton and Argo, on Saturday marking the first-ever turtle release in Rhode Island. This special event took place at the Town of Westerly’s Wuskenau Beach in Rhode Island, coinciding with National Sandcastle Day, adding an extra layer of excitement and celebration. They have a strikingly unusual distribution, with the adults, juveniles, males, and females occupying different geographical regions at the same time.