| Diagnosis |
Smaller species under genus Chelonia. Adults carapace are strongly elevated or vaulted. In large females, carapace is less round profile in frontal view than in Chelonia mydas. In dorsal view, carapace is subcardiform and slightly emarginate over the neck and fore flippers, and deeply emarginate over the rear flippers. In subadults and young turtles, indentations are present in the last third of the carapace between each marginal scute. The carapace width 76 to 82% of its straight-line length (SCL), usually becomes narrower with age. The head is small and blunt. Carapacial scutes have 5 centrals, 4 pairs of laterals and 11 pairs of marginals. In ventral view, on the plastron, the scutes are less thick than those of the carapace. Scute counts 6 pairs plus 4 inframarginals at each side. Head with one pair of elongated prefrontal scales and 4 postorbital scales at each side (variable from 2 to 5). Tomium of lower jaw serrated. Serrations corresponds with strong ridges on the inner surface of the upper tomium. Each flipper at the outer border has a single visible claw. Adults color in dorsal view are dark. Carapace slate grey to black, with a blotched or radiating brown and olive pattern, with or without yellow radiating stripes; upper surfaces of the head and flippers plain dark. Plastron varying from whitish grey to bluish or olive-grey. Young individuals are more colorful and brighter. Some adult turtles have the carapace covered by a coat of microscopic green algae, giving a lustreless greenish color. Hatchlings carapace and flippers dorsally are very dark brown or black with a narrow white border; ventrally white same as Chelonia mydas. |