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Kemp's ridley turtle
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Common Name
Kemp's ridley, Atlantic Ridley, Gulf Ridley, Mexican Ridley; Lépidochelyde de Kemp, Ridley de Kemp, Tortue de Kemp (Fr); Cotorra, Tortuga Lora, Tortuga marina bastarda (Sp)
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Scientific Name
Lepidochelys kempii
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Status
IUCN: Critically Endangered (CR A1ab) CITES: Appendix I CMS listing: Appendix I and II
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population
Approx. 1,000 nesting females
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Habitat
Shallow sand and mud, estuaries
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Length
Around 70 cm
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Weight
Up to 40 kg
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A species back from the brink
Kemp's ridley turtles are the most endangered of all cheloniids. The species has a restricted range and nests only along a small stretch of coastline in the Gulf of Mexico. In the 1940s, more than 100,000 came ashore here in a single day to nest. By the 1980s, numbers were down to a few hundred nesting females.Conservation efforts lead by USA and Mexico have been ongoing since the 1970s, when the nesting beach of Rancho Nuevo was declared a National Reserve. These efforts have been successful and today there is a female breeding population of approximately 1,000 individuals.
Although there has been an increase in the number of nests through the 1990s, since the introduction of Turtle Excluder Devices, shrimp trawling in the region remains a threat to the Kemp's ridley. The juvenile population of the Kemp's ridley is also threatened by pollution in the Gulf of Mexico around the mouths of the Alabama and Mississippi rivers, important development habitats for these animals.
Physical Description
The ridley turtles, Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), are the smallest of all marine turtles.The species differs from the olive ridley by its parrot-like beak and flatter, almost completely round, carapace. Kemp's ridley turtles can grow up to 35 to 40kg in weight, with an average length of 69cm.
Like all marine turtles, Kemp's ridleys are migratory, swimming enormous distances between feeding grounds and the nesting beach. Feeding migrations are believed to be stimulated by the movement of warmer water. However, a seemingly unique feature of this species is that in contrast to females, the males appear to be non-migratory.
Size
Ridley turtles are around 70 cm long, and up to 40 kg in weight.
Colour
The carapace (shell) of Kemp´s ridley is olive grey, while the plastron (underside) is yellowish/white.
Habitat
Major habitat typeShallow sand and mud, estuaries
Biogeographic realm
Neotropical
Range States
Mexico, U.S.
Geographical Location
Gulf of Mexico, western Atlantic
Ecological Region
Greater Antillean Marine, Mesoamerican Caribbean Reef
Why is this species important?
Marine turtles fulfill important roles in marine ecosystemsKemp's ridley turtles feed on invertebrates and may play important roles in both open ocean and coastal ecosystems.