5828 x 3900 px | 49,3 x 33 cm | 19,4 x 13 inches | 300dpi
Ubicazione:
Gulf of Mexico, Off Texas, USA, North America
Altre informazioni:
The Atlantic ridley is a relatively small sea turtle. Its carapace is no longer than 75 cm and adults never weigh more than 50 kg. Its circular carapace is olive-green to gray in colour with 5 pleural scutes on each side of the central vertebral scutes. The bridge between the carapace and yellow plastron has 4 scutes, each with a pore on the back edge. The pores secrete a substance which deters predators, but may also act to bring adults together for mating. The head and flipper-like limbs are gray in colour. While the female's tail barely reaches beyond the rim of the carapace, the male has a long prehensile tail. Other distinctive male traits include a thick curved claw on each forelimb and a slightly concave plastron. Despite 20 years of research, little is known about the behaviour of the Atlantic ridley. Both juveniles and adults migrate long distances to feeding ranges. They are vulnerable to cold water temperatures, reaching a critical threshold at 10OC. Although Atlantic ridley turtles have the ability to dive, they are primarily a shallow water coastal species, they are not well adapted for deep prolonged dives. Unlike the leatherback turtle which uses oxygen supplies from its tissues and blood, the ridley sea turtle must relies on lung oxygen stores.
