Turtle Species ID
Posted November 12th, 2011 by Mark Niewoehner
Images:
My only reference for positively id-ing turtle species is a printed page. Any suggestions about where to find any product better for turtle species id?
I did not clearly see the beak to help determine it if was a hawksbill. So, I'm left with three possibles, Green, Hawksbill or Kemp's Ridley.
I first saw it at the surface while I was on the bottom in about 30 ft. It descended and headed close enough to get this picture.
Thanks!
Mark
Green Turtle
Here's a good pdf on Sea Turtle ID: http://www.seaturtle.org/documents/ID_sheet.pdf
You've found a Green Turtle. It only has four coastal plates (see pdf) and the plates fit in nicely together (vs. overlapping plates).
Hawksbills usually have cleary visible overlapping plates and a jagged edge on the rear half of their shell. Very obvious in this photo: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/srp-view.aspx?id=130271
An easier way to tell them apart is by the beak - Hawksbills have 2 pairs of scales on the top on their snout and Greens only have 1 pair.
Nice Photo!
Louis
Green Turtle
Excellent! Thanks! The ID chart is very helpful as is the hawksbill photo.