Kemp's ridley sea turtle

Atlantic ridley turtle ( Lepidochelys kempii )

The Atlantic ridley turtle or Caribbean ridley ( Lepidochelys kempii ) belongs to the family of sea turtles. Your species is the smallest and rarest and it is more threatened than the other sea turtles. The Caribbean bastard turtle lives in shallow coastal waters exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern United States. Only the females come ashore to lay their eggs.

Build and Features

Rarely is longer than 76 cm at the Atlantic ridley turtle carapace. Their average weight is 30 to 45 kg. Skin as well as back and abdominal tanks are gray, but may change with increasing age change the color. Plastron, neck and bottom of the shoulders may be yellowish, while the carapace may discolor olive green. As with other sea turtles in the tank is oval, flattened and covered with horny scales. The sea turtles no longer have the ability to hide his head in the tank, so they have to actively defend. The Atlantic ridley turtle snaps to exhaustion wildly.

Hiking trails and nesting behavior

The migratory behavior of Atlantic ridley turtle differs from that of other marine turtles, as she is present almost exclusively in the Caribbean. In addition, they only nests on a secluded beach, which is located near Rancho Nuevo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. In the period from April to June, the females lay a total of three times from eggs. Nevertheless, the Atlantic ridley turtle is critically endangered. Mexican coyotes and other wild animals eat the eggs. Furthermore, compromising the hunting and fishing the animals, while also plastic waste in the oceans, which the turtles can not distinguish from actual food, is lethal.

The food of the Atlantic ridley turtle consists mainly of crustaceans, crabs, clams, lobsters, jellyfish and snails.