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You are here: Home / Basic Biology of Caribbean Sea Turtles / Pictorial Key / Kemp’s Ridley Turtle

Kemp’s Ridley Turtle

krDescription of the Kemp’s Ridley Turtle
(Lepidochelys kempii)

Colouration*HeadLimbsCarapacePlastronWeightDistribution
lk-return-to-the-sea1-c-usnps-paisDorsally grey in immatures, light olive-green in adults; underside white in immatures, yellow in adults.

*source: Pritchard & Mortimier (1999)

lk-nesting2-c-usnps-pais

taxlk-lk-head-profileRelatively large, subtriangular with convex sides; width to 13 cm; two pairs of prefrontal scales.

Two claws on each flipper (some adults may lose the secondary claw on the front flippers).
lk-nesting-approach-c-usnps-paislarge

taxlk-lk-dorsalRelatively short and wide, almost circular (wider in adults than that of L. olivacea); modest marginal serration or scalloping; high vertebral projections in juveniles, but carapace smooth and low in adults; carapace scutes slightly overlapping in immatures, and non-overlapping in adults; five pairs of costal scutes; straight carapace length (SCL) to 72 cm.

taxlk-lk-nesting1-c-usnps-pais

taxlk-lk-ventralA distinct, small pore near rear margin of each of the four inframarginal scutes.

Typically 35-50 kg.
Gulf of Mexico, eastern USA, occasionally western Europe.

Loggerhead turtle

Loggerhead turtle
(Caretta caretta)

gr

Green Turtle
(Chelonia mydas)

lb

Leatherback Turtle
(Dermochelys coriacea)

hb

Hawksbill Turtle
(Eretmochelys imbricata)

kr

Kemp’s Ridley
(Lepidochelys kempii)

lo
 
 
Olive Ridley
(Lepidochelys olivacea)

lkleaf01

lkleaf02

lkleaf03

Working together to realize a future where all inhabitants of the Wider Caribbean Region, human and sea turtle alike, can live together in balance.

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