Category: turtle species

Dermochelys coriacea Distribution These turtles are seen nesting in Sri Lanka including, Induruwa, Mawella, Ussangoda, Rekawa, Ambalangoda, Kosgoda, Bundala, Godavaya & Yala. Although leatherbacks are most often found in tropical waters, they are distributed around the globe in temperate oceans, and even on edges of sub arctic water & sub arctic oceans. They travel north…

Eretmochelys imbricata (Fitzinger, 1843) Distribution Nesting sites of Sri Lanka includes Kataduwa, Bentota, Udappuwa, Kosgoda, Karaduwa, Talaimannar, Jaffna, Galkissa, Talawila, Palatupana, Amadhauwa. These turtles are found mainly in the tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Oceans & Mediterranean Sea. They are most associated with tropical waters. Characteristics These turtles are relatively small sea turtles.…

Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution They are found in south & south-east shore of Sri Lanka including Kosgoda & Rakawa. But they are also seen very rarely in Sri Lanka. This turtle is found in nearly all the world’s temperate and tropical oceans: the Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Argentina, the Indian Ocean from southern…

Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829) Distribution In Sri Lanka this species is known to nest in Karaduwa, Maggona, Bundala, MArichchikaddi, Kalpitiya, Udappuwa, Hambantota, Kundakuliya, Chilaw, Negambo, MAtara, Weligama. They are common in the Bay of Bengal, seen especially along parts of the Tamil Nadu coastline. They generally tend to stay within the latitudes of 40° North…

Lepidochelys kempii Anatomy Kemp’s ridley is a small sea turtle species, reaching maturity at 58–70 cm (23–28 in) carapace length and weighing only 36–45 kg (79–99 lb). Typical of sea turtles, it has a dorsoventrally depressed body with specially adapted flipper-like front limbs and a beak. Kemp’s ridley turtle is the smallest of the sea…

Natator depressus Distribution The flatback sea turtle has the smallest range of the seven sea turtles. They are found in the continental shelf and coastal waters of tropic regions. These turtles do not travel long distances in the open ocean for migrations like other sea turtles. They can be typically be found in waters of…

Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution These turtles are known to nest in Akurella, Mawella, Kosgoda, Rekawa, Ambalantota, Yala & Bundala of Sri Lanka. They are widely distributed in tropical & sub tropical regions especially around oceanic islands & along coasts with wide sandy beaches. Also they are seen in all oceans with primarily temperate waters.…