Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

Description:

The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a medium-sized species of sea turtle found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.The olive ridley is a small sea turtle, with an adult carapace length averaging 60 to 70 cm.The heart-shaped carapace is characterized by four pairs of pore-bearing inframarginal scutes on the bridge, two pairs of prefrontals, and up to 9 lateral scutes per side. Olive ridleys are unique in that they can have variable and asymmetrical lateral scute counts ranging from five to 9 plates on each side, with six to eight being most commonly observed.[2] Each side of the carapace has 12–14 marginal scutes. The carapace is flattened dorsally and highest anterior to the bridge. It has a medium–sized, broad head that appears triangular from above. The head's concave sides are most obvious on the upper part of the short snout. It has paddle-like forelimbs, each having two anterior claws. The upperparts are grayish green to olive in color, but sometimes appear reddish due to algae growing on the carapace. The bridge and hingeless plastron of an adult varies from greenish white in younger individuals to a creamy yellow in older specimens. Hatchlings are dark gray with a pale yolk scar, but appear all black when wet. Carapace length ranges from 37 to 50 mm. A thin, white line borders the carapace, as well as the trailing edge of the fore and hind flippers.Both hatchlings and juveniles have serrated posterior marginal scutes, which become smooth with age. Juveniles also have three dorsal keels; the central longitudinal keel gives younger turtles a serrated profile, which remains until sexual maturity is reached. Adults are somewhat sexually dimorphic.Mature males have longer and thicker tails, which are used for copulation,and the presence of enlarged and hooked claws on the males' front flippers allow them to grasp the female carapace during copulation. Males also have longer, more tapered carapaces than females, which have round, dome-like carapaces.Males also have more concave plastrons, believed to be another adaptation for mating. The plastrons of males may also be softer than females.

Habitat:

Chandrabhaga Beach,Puri,Orissa