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CHELONIIDAE - Turtles -
Several species of turtles nest in Grenada. - The Green turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Loggerhead turtle and the Ridley turtle. They nest on the beaches on the Windward side of Grenada and Carriacou. The females crawl up the beaches and lay their eggs in the dry sand of the spray zone.
The Green turtle -Chelonia mydas - nest in small sheltered bays - (Nothern Seascape, Levera, La sagesse) and feeds near eel grass beds. They are heavily chopped as they come to the beaches to lay up to 600 eggs in a season. They are endangered
Green Turtle - Chelonia mydas
They are called green turtles because of the color of the flesh. Chelonia mydas are one of the largest turtles ranging from 71 to 153 centimeters. They can weigh up to 205 kilograms. They have limbs that are paddle-like, which are used to swim. Their heads seem small compared to their body size. Males are larger than females and the tail is longer, extending well beyond the shell.
The Hawksbill turtle - Eretmochelys imbricata is carnivorous, and like the loggerhead feeds on shellfish and rock encrusting marine animals. They also nest in sheltered bays and are endangered
Eretmochelys imbricata Hawksbill turtles are most commonly found in hard-bottomed and reef habitats containing sponges. They also reside in shoals, lagoons of oceanic islands, and continental shelves. In general, they are found in water no deeper than
sixty feet (18.3 m).
The Hawksbill turtle - Eretmochelys imbricata
Loggerhead turtle - Caretta caretta
Females nest on sandy beaches in the tropical and temperate regions of their range.
Adults and juveniles feed in shallow waters of the continental shelves, often in water only a few tens of meters deep. They spend much of their time around reefs, or along the bottom. Adults sometimes travel for thousands of
kilometers.
Loggerhead turtle - Caretta caretta
Ridley or Kemp's turtle - Lepidochelys olivacea.
The olive ridley turtle is the smallest of the marine turtles. The carapace of this turtle is olive coloured and relatively heart-shaped, whilst the under surface is a greenish white
Ridley or Kemp's turtle - Lepidochelys olivacea.
The olive ridley turtle inhabits tropical waters, and adults are known to be pelagic, feeding in the open ocean. Nesting tends to occur on mainland shores, on wide beaches that are often close to river or estuary mouths
Leatherback turtle - Dermochelys coriacea Dermochelyidae
is the largest of the sea turtles, weighing up to 500 kilograms.
The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is a large marine turtle; specimens can grow up to 2 m long and have an average weight of 500 kg. The leatherback's carapace is not covered by scales, but instead has a leathery, cartilagenous covering. The paddle shaped front flippers are usually equal to or longer than half the animal's body.
Leatherback turtle - Dermochelys coriacea
The Morocoy or Red legged tortoise - Geochelone carbonaria is thought to have been indigenous to Grenada and the Grenadines but was hunted to extinction. It has since been re-introduced.
The red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria) has a dark carapace with lighter patches of yellow in the centres of the scutes and around the outside edges of the shell. Although there is much variation, the legs and head are often coloured with patches of red, orange or yellow. Many individuals have a distinctive constriction in the sides of their shells, giving the appearance of a waistline or an hourglass shape when viewed from above.
The Morocoy tortoise - Geochelone carbonaria
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