| Cheloniidae (sea turtles) |
| 96 cm CL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 84 kg |
|
benthopelagic; marine; depth range 0 - 200 m |
| Indo-West Pacific: endemic to Australia. |
|
Adult: body flat, and carapace smooth, nearly elliptical with upturned margins. In subadults: carapace rim indented from middle to the back. Head: medium-sized, subtriangular, flat on top. Snout: longer and nearly equal to orbit. Scutes: ventrally consists of 6 pairs of main scutes, one intergular scute, a pair of postanal scutes and 4 poreless inframarginal scutes
in each bridge with only one axillary scale in each bridge. Single visible claw in each flipper. Color: adults dorsally dull olive-grey with pale brownish yellow
tones marginally; neck and head pale tone. Plastron ventrally are creamy white. Young individuals: brightly colored. Hatchlings: carapace scutes form a dark grey reticulate pattern; each scute are pale olive green; carapace rim and flippers are cream-colored band. Ventrally cream-white, except central part of each flipper which is bluish-grey diffuse spot. |
| This species inhabits the shallow waters especially on coral reef areas like Great Barrier Reef and continental islands. Nesting only takes place in Australia. The peak season varies in localities: in southeast Queensland, November to January; in northern beaches, occurs throughout the year with a peak between March and April. Renesting interval usually lasts from 12 to 23 days. The nesting cycle at Mon Repos, ranges from 1 to 5 years with a mean of 2.65 years. Used as a value for subsistence and for some people the meat is considered as poisonous that is why local consumption is low (Ref. 1397). |
|
Data deficient (DD); Date assessed: 01 September 1996 Ref. 123251)
|
| poisonous to eat |
|
Source and more info: www.sealifebase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.
