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Green
Turtle (Chelonia mydas) 1.4 m
Testudo Mydas
C. Linnaeus. 1758. Syst. Nat., Ed. 10, 1: 197.
Types:
NHRM 19 (syntype), NHRM 26 (syntype), NHRM 231 (syntype), from "Insulas
pelagi: insulam Adscensionis", restricted to "Insel
Ascension" (= Ascension Island, 07° 57’S; 14° 22’W, the
Atlantic Ocean).
Identification:
A large sea turtle, showing a pair of prefrontal scales on the forehead;
scutes of the carapace not overlapping; upper jaw without a hook; and
forelimbs with a single claw. The carapace is olive or brown, usually with
a dark radiating pattern, the plastron pale yellow. The English name is
for the color of the fat, once in demand for making turtle soup. Adult
males are smaller than females and possess relatively longer tails than
females that project out of the rim of the carapace.
Natural
history: Juveniles of the green turtle are carnivorous, while adults
consume only sea grass and sea weeds. Eggs are softshelled, spherical,
each nest containing around a hundred eggs (although as few as 98 and as
many as 172 eggs may be laid at a time) that measure about 41.4-42.1 mm
that hatch around two months after laying. Up to 11 nests may be laid by a
female within a nesting season. Collection of eggs from nests as in
Sarawak, Sabah, and elsewhere, in addition to disturbance of nesting
turtles, including their capture for food and destruction of nesting
beaches are reasons why green turtles are globally threatened. As in most
other turtles, the incubation temperature of the egg determines the sex of
the hatchling, and therefore hatcheries for these turtles, if thought
necessary for conservation, need to be operated with care.
Distribution:
The species nests along the Bornean coast. Widely distributed in the
tropical regions, the green turtle is particularly common around oceanic
islands and along coasts with wide sandy beaches.
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